The nearly 4.3 million children born in the United States in 2006 were the most born in a single year since 1961, suggesting the country is experiencing a small, brief baby "boomlet," the Associated Press reported.

The U.S. fertility rate (the number of children the average woman is expected to have in her lifetime) reached 2.1, higher than any country in continental Europe, as well as Australia, Canada and Japan.

Decreased contraceptive use, reduced access to abortion, poor education and poverty may be among the reasons for the increased number of births in the U.S., experts cited by the wire service said.

They also suggested that Americans may regard children more favorably than many other Westernized countries, the AP reported.