The Cambs area with biggest ‘baby bust’ since 2010 where fewer children are being born

Fewer babies are being born compared to 15 years ago

Fertility rates are falling across Cambridgeshire with every part of the county having fewer babies than they were 15 years ago. It reflects a similar picture nationwide where the country recorded the fewest number of live births since 1977.

More than 585,000 children were born last year which is down from a 21st Century high of around 729,000 in 2012. The declining number of births has led to a fall in the country’s fertility rate, which is a measure of how many babies women have in their lifetimes.

The fertility rate varies between district areas in Cambridgeshire. Peterborough had the highest (1.63) compared to the Cambridge city area with a rate of 0.87.

Collins Dictionary describes a marked decline in birth rate as a ‘baby bust’ as opposed to a ‘baby boom’ when there is a large increase in the number of babies born during a particular time. The total fertility rate was 1.39 babies per woman in England and Wales in 2025. That’s down slightly from 2024, when the rate was 1.41 babies per woman.

The biggest fall in fertility over the last 15 years nationally is in the London borough of Greenwich. Back in 2010, the fertility rate was 2.17 children per woman. That’s now dropped to 1.18 per woman, almost one less baby per woman.

Large drops have also occurred in North Somerset (falling from 2.19 to 1.33), Salford (from 2.06 to 1.22), Southwark (1.80 to 0.97), and East Lindsey (from 2.20 to 1.39). Pendle has the highest fertility rate in the country. There are an average of 1.93 children per woman in the Lancashire town. That’s down from as high as 2.3 per woman back in 2010 though. Luton has the next-highest fertility rate at 1.93 children per woman, followed by Oldham with 1.87, Bradford with 1.84, and Barking and Dagenham with 1.83.

The age at which people have children has been increasing since the 1970s. The average age for mothers was 31.1 years in 2025 and 33.9 years for fathers. Back in 2010, the average age for mothers was 29.5 years. In 2000, it was 28.5 years, in 1990 it was 27.7 years, in 1980 it was 26.9 years, which was up from a record low of 26.4 years in 1975.