Massive numbers of births in Israeli hospitals are breaking records around the country, with departments reporting labor and delivery services being maxed above capacity.
Though Shaare Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem has been delivering more than 22,000 babies a year on its two campuses—the hospital with the most births per year in the world—it is not one of the hospitals that broke records in July.
Soroka Medical Center in Beersheva broke its record for births in a month with 1,518 deliveries in July, a 10 percent increase over the number recorded there during the last six Julys.
Ichilov Hospital in Tel Aviv saw 1,014 births in July, a 10 percent rise over its monthly average in a new maternity ward with 51 private rooms and a newborn department.
HaEmek Medical Center in Afula had a nearly 15 percent increase in July, delivering 392 babies.
According to statistics taken in 2016, Israel has a fertility rate of 3.11 children per mother—the highest fertility rate in the developed world.
