More Australian babies were born in 2006 than in any other year during the past three decades, new data shows.
Ahead of Mother's Day, the nation's statistician says that women can now expect to have 1.8 children during their lifetime, the highest number in 10 years.
There were 265,900 births registered in 2006 - the highest number in 30 years - the Australian Bureau of Statistics said.
The Australian government has in recent years tried to encourage a higher birth rate to combat the ageing of the population.
Former treasurer Peter Costello urged families during one famous budget news conference to have "one for mum, one for dad and one for the country".
The new data also reveals 63 per cent of mothers, with children under 15 years, were employed in March 2008, compared to 54 per cent a decade ago.
As the number of mothers employed increased, so too did the use of formal child care.
The percentage of children under the age of 12 years attending formal care increased from 14 per cent in 1996, to 23 per cent in 2005.
In the same year, 44 per cent of employed mothers with children under two had jobs with flexible hours, 39 per cent were permanent part-time workers, while 27 per cent worked from home.
More than two-thirds (67 per cent) of mothers in a relationship with a child under 15 said they "always or often felt rushed or pressed for time" compared to 61 per cent of single mothers in the same category.
