The baby boom generation is a unique example of how economy and population size work together in a cyclic fashion.
The Baby Boom era spanned from 1946-1964. It was a nineteen-year fertility boom that produced seventy five million kids. The birth rate increased from 2.1 births per woman in the 1930's to 3.7 births per woman in the 1950's. There were several reasons for this phenomenon. The first cause for the birth rate increase was post World War II euphoria. The uniting of the young men coming home to their wives caused the birth rate to increase (Jones 14-22). In 1946, thirty four million babies were born, and in 1947 thirty eight million babies were born. This was twenty percent more than in 1945. A similar experience was seen in Europe, but only in the United States did it continue past the first few years after World War II. Some of the reasons for the sustained increased birth rate were the increased number of couples getting married. Both young women, and women who were older were getting married and shortly thereafter having children. Young women were marrying about three years earlier, and women who had delayed marriage during the war were joining their younger sisters. The economic prosperity of the country fueled a "Procreation Ethic", and having children was seen as a favorable trend. This trend lasted for nineteen years (Light 40-44).
This increased population caused immediate service needs. The immediate result of an increased birth rate was a hospital shortage. So many babies were being delivered that there weren't enough hospitals or medical personnel. Also, as husbands and wives started to produce larger families, they began looking for larger places to live, and the suburbs were created. The Baby Boom generation was seen by the manufacturing industry as a new generation of consumers. The diaper industry grew from a thirty two million dollar industry in 1947, to a fifty million dollar industry in 1957.