Decline Seen in Birthrate for County : Statistics: Decrease is the first since 1983. Death rate and infant deaths are also down.

SANTA ANA —  Aging baby boomers, fewer immigrants and a sluggish economy have caused the birthrate in Orange County to dip for the first time since 1983, health care officials said Wednesday.

“Obviously, the recession has been a consideration and I think there are people who do look at financial consequences of whether to have a baby or not,” said William F. Gayk, Orange County demographer.

Figures showed that 51,305 babies were born in Orange County in 1991, representing a slight increase from the previous year. But Gayk noted that the county’s birthrate actually dipped to 20.71 births for every 1,000 women, down from 21.09 in 1990, because the total population increased. Figures for 1992 are not available.

Gayk said that female baby boomers, those born from 1946 to 1964, are getting older and having fewer babies.

He said many women ages 15 to 44 continue to bear children, but statistics show that the prime years for childbearing are from age 20 to 30.

In a commercial sense, Orange County still provides a strong commercial market for infant and toddler products, Gayk said. He said there is still a significant number of children being born in the county.

“If you look at a five-year basis, that’s a quarter of a million little toddlers out there,” he said.

Despite the decrease in birthrate, baptisms--usually an indicator for parish growth--remain at extremely high levels in the 53 churches that make up the Catholic Diocese of Orange, said Msgr. Jaime Soto, diocesan vicar for Hispanic ministry.

“By our own estimation we baptize 1,500 babies a month for the Orange Diocese,” Soto said, “and more than 800 of those are celebrated in Spanish, according to a study completed last year. Of that total, about 500 are done in Santa Ana parishes.”

Orange County’s infant death rate was at its lowest in 10 years, with 6.18 per 1,000 births, said Dr. George Gellert, county deputy health officer.

“I can’t give you a specific reason for the overall decline in infant mortality rates,” Gellert said. “This is the lowest it’s been in a number of years. But I’m not ready to say it’s a permanent change.”

Overall, deaths in Orange County reached 14,369 in 1991. Gellert said that represents a very low death rate of 5.8 per 1,000 people.

“We’re pleased when we see year-to-year decreases of this kind,” he said.

Birth, Death Rates Down Orange County’s birthrate has dropped for the first time since 1983. A look at the vital statistics: Birthrate ‘91: 20.71 Total Population ‘91: 2.48 Death Rate ‘91: 5.80 Infant Death Rate ‘91: 6.18 Source: Orange County Health Care Agency