FILE PHOTO - According to recent data from the health authority, the number of births in the Interior Health region rose by 9% from 2020 to 2021, from 5,647 to 6,136 – an increase of 489 babies.
(DAN WALTON / iNFOnews.ca)
March 22, 2022 - 9:52 AM
Stopping short of “baby boom,” Interior Health is calling last year’s birthrate increase a “baby bump.”
According to recent data from the health authority, the number of births in the Interior Health region rose by 9% from 2020 to 2021, from 5,647 to 6,136 – an increase of 489 babies.
Between hospitals in Kamloops and the Okanagan, the greatest rate increase was at the Penticton Regional Hospital, where the number rose by 23% from 465 to 570 – an extra 105 births.
Across the region, the Kelowna General Hospital saw the largest increase in numbers, with 197 more babies born last year compared to 2020. The rise from 1,611 to 1,808 was a growth of 12%.
Vernon Jubilee Hospital’s numbers went up by 7%, from 771 births to 827 – an increase of 56.
READ MORE: US birth rate falls to lowest point in more than a century
The Royal Inland Hospital in Kamloops experienced a 4% increase year-over-year of 1,186 to 1,228 – 42 more babies.
The only centre with a greater increase than Penticton was the Kootenay Boundary Regional Hospital in Trail, where there was a change of 30%. The number of births rose from 182 to 236 – a difference of 54.
The province has also released stats that break down the number of births in each community, which goes back as far as 2007, and the numbers for January and February of 2022 have already been released.
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