Baby boom

From ArticleWorld

The Baby Boom is generally referred to the jump in birthrates in the years after World War Two. “Baby boomers” are the generation born between 1945 and about 1960. In this period, more than 65 million children were born. They grew up in a generally prosperous period in American life but also experienced as teenagers the uncertainties and conflicts of the 1950s and 1960s.

This dramatic increase in fertility rates and in the absolute number of births took place in the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand during the period following World War II.

Trigger

The baby boom was a freak occurrence caused by the conjunction of youthful optimism, material affluence, victory in one war and fear of losing another. The larger than expected generation in most parts of the world was born shortly after World War II, a birthing spree that did not peak till 1957 and only ended in 1964.

Different periods

Skeletal evidence shows that the first baby boom showing abrupt increase in birth rate occurred during the Neolithic period. This happened as an impact of the shift from foraging to farming and the invention of agriculture lead to a significant increase in birth rate.

The modern and the most popular baby boomers are those born between 1945-1964 and the general atmosphere of bonhomie and good cheer that the post war years brought on can be held responsible for the phenomenon.

The Gen Y, or the Echo baby boom happened between 1978-1992, while the year 2000 also saw a mini baby boom. The most important of the many factors responsible for the occurrence of the last instance was that many couples wanted a millennium baby. For the Chinese it was also the auspicious year of the dragon and for stock marketers it was the year of the mighty bulls.