Office for National Statistics data shows there were 1,373 live births in Watford in 2021, 5% more than the year before.

Nationally, the fertility rate increased from 1.58 to 1.61 year-on-year, the first time it has risen since 2012.

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Katherine O’Brien from the British Pregnancy Advisory Service said: "At the height of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, many women may have delayed trying to conceive.”

In Watford, the fertility rate rose to 1.91 in 2021, meaning, on average, women would be expected to have more children than in the rest of the country if current rates held during their lifetime.

Fertility rates declined among younger women but rose in older groups, with a boost to the number of new mothers aged 35-39.

Last year was also the first time since records began that more babies were born to mothers who were not married or in a civil partnership.

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