Last year, UCHealth Longs Peak Hospital set a record, topping more than 1,000 babies born.
LONGMONT, Colo. — Across the country and here in Colorado, birth rates are dropping. Women are waiting longer to have kids, if they do at all.
A hospital in Longmont, though, is seeing the opposite trend. They're in a baby boom.
UCHealth Longs Peak Hospital has been seeing their numbers go up in recent years as more women come in to deliver. Last year, they set a record, topping more than 1,000 babies born.
Inside the hospital, Alexandra Montano of Platteville and her family have eyes on their newest member, baby Colter.
"He's a good baby," Montano said.
Colter's big sister Cheyenne has her own ideas on what to name him.
"We're like, 'His name is Colter,'" Montano said. "'No. That's Bingo. That's Bingo.'"
Birthing baby Bingo wasn't their family's first visit to the hospital.
"Our first was born here actually, and it was one of the newer hospitals in the area that opened up and I'd heard great things about it," Montano said. "And then we loved it so much we came back and had him."
"Once we get them in here, they're hooked for life it seems like," said Chris Withbroe, Director of the Birth Center at the hospital. "We have been very busy this year. In 2024, we had a banner year. We reached over 1,000 births for the first time."
And demand isn't dropping.
"It's been pretty busy. Like, we have a full house today. So yeah, we have lots of babies wanting to be born. I think we have five on deck right now waiting to be born," Withbroe said.
Withbroe said their baby boom comes from growth in the community, the range of delivery options they offer, and moms and blogs sharing their experiences.
"Word of mouth has definitely been huge for bringing those moms in," Withbroe said.
Longs Peak's new role as a birthing hot spot comes as Colorado's birth rates drop.
Birth rates in the state have been declining since the early 2000s, according to Kate Watkins, State Demographer with the Colorado Department of Local Affairs.
Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows fewer women are having children around the country, too.
"Even national statistics show that the birth rate is declining, but we're definitely not seeing that here," Withbroe said.
New additions like Colter are keeping birthing suites busy and hospital rooms filled, kicking off another busy year.
"I fully expect that we'll be making records every month again," Withbroe said.
Montano's family's role in this baby boom is now over as they prepare to take Colter home, ready to begin their next chapter as a family of four.
"I'm excited. I'm ready to take him home," Montano said. "We are complete now."
To handle this demand, UCHealth Longs Peak is adding three new birthing rooms and a new operating room that will open over the summer. They've added more nursing staff to the team, Withbroe said, and they'll now have doctors in-house 24/7 for deliveries instead of being called in.
And, Withbroe said, they're ready to expand again if this baby boom continues.