There were 955 bundles of joy born during 2011 and the Orange Health Service experienced a 9 per cent increase on 2010 figures when 873 babies were born.

Last year’s birth numbers were also a 21 per cent increase on the number of babies born a decade ago, with 785 births recorded in 2001.

“It would be a sign of a healthy city, that people are in the financial position to have a baby,” Western Research Institute chief executive officer Tom Murphy said.

Mr Murphy said the introduction of the government’s baby bonus in 2002 would have influenced the number of people choosing to have a child.

“I suspect the baby bonus played a role in the continuing trend upwards and the effects will continue,” he said.

A higher birth rate was a good thing for a rural city like Orange, Mr Murphy said.

“It’ll attract a good level of services like childcare, sporting events and cultural events,” he said.

Mr Murphy said the higher birth rate in Orange should lead to more people staying in the area to work.

He said the increase in births could in part be explained by a high number of people moving to Orange.

Acting maternity unit manager Jenny Soar said Orange’s baby boom kept the staff on its toes.

“We were all certainly kept very busy last year, especially in October, when we welcomed 102 babies, almost one more per day than the previous month,” she said.

Mother of two Stacey Ellice was part of last year’s boom when her second daughter Demi was born on December 3.

She said Orange was a great place for her and husband Nick to raise their children, with many of their friends also having had babies around the same time.

“The facilities in Orange are good and they’re well looked after, people know the services available,” she said.

The Orange Aboriginal Medical Centre birthing unit was contacted for this story but was unable to provide data on the number of births there.

nadine.morton@ruralpress.com