Did you know the economic recession led to a baby recession? Well, it’s true. (In case you hadn’t noticed, the little buggers are pretty expensive to care for.) And now that the economy is on the rise, so is the birth rate: In fact, the U.S. birth rate grew last year for the first time since 2007 – mostly due to women becoming mothers in their 30s and early 40s. An annual report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control shows that the birth rate in 2014 rose 1 percent over the rate in 2013, resulting in 62.9 births per 1,000 women. Of particular note is that the overall birth rate rose while births to women in their teens and twenties fell. This birth boost can largely be attributed to the economic recovery. The National Center for Health Statistics believes that women now in their 30s who may have wanted to have children when the recession began delayed pregnancies until the financial situation improved. The nationwide trend is echoed here in the Chippewa Valley. Last year the number of births in Eau Claire, Chippewa, and Dunn counties combined rose to its highest level since 2008, when the financial collapse set in. In 2014 there were 2,441 births between the three counties, up from 2,316 a year earlier. Babies, it appears, are back in season.