Professor Danny Dorling, an expert in human geography at Sheffield University, said the changes in recent years were being driven by the change in university admissions during the 1980s.
"In that period many more women started to go to university which meant that they ended up delaying having children. I believe the fall that we have seen was due to this group and what is happening now is that these women are now having children but at a later age than they once did......We are not likely to get to the replacement level - two children per woman - but that is not necessarily a concern because immigration is making up for that."
Dr Richard Kennedy, of the British Fertility Society, said experts would advise women not to delay having children for too long, but said it would be "unrealistic" to expect a change in behaviour.
Even though, the total fertility rate is at its highest for 26 years, it is still significantly lower than in the 1960s when it stayed well above two children per woman. The all-time high was recorded in 1964 when it hit 2.93. In total, there were 669,531 births in 2006 with over a fifth of them to mothers born outside the UK - a figure which is also rising.
June 2007
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