Once more the world is thinking babywards, as the prospect of a future king (or queen) rises before us. As I write the royal baby is knocking at the gates, by the time you read this the world will have its answers. Or else a lot of gamblers will have lost a lot of money because the favourite date was yesterday, July 17.
Yes, everything is bettable - the date, the sex, the name. But this is just the tip of an industry that is particularly flourishing at the moment.
Many women are hearing the alarm of their biological clock and responding to the call they may have put off throughout their twenties. A stroll through Chapel St, Toorak Rd or Chadstone reveals the number of well-heeled older mothers, who are pausing their careers to put a few years into pushing elaborate baby rigs to some very expensive baby shops.
The researchers at IBISWorld have been adding up the cost of babies, individually and in total. You won't be surprised to know it's not cheap, General Manager Karen Dobie calculated $3037 per child. Being as so many of these mothers may be returning to work after parental leave, you more than double the cost when you add childcare, to $7098 annually.
This childcare sector amounts to $6.6 billion, shelled out by working parents. No wonder all political parties have targeted it as an important election issue. Too many unhappy voters see their second income go straight out in child minding fees.
Even the word "second" is debatable in these times of single mothers, and fathers, separations and divorces, same-sex parents, all struggling to meet the bills. Without even being faced, yet, by the costs to come at them once school education starts.
Not of course that this is a problem for William and Kate, nor for those yummy mummies in their designer track suits. They don't have to be royal for their baby to command luxurious treatment.
This year Australians will be spending big for the nursery furniture and toys, nappies and clothes - but also feeding their babies a regal selection of organic foods, dietary specialties, the finest imported foods. Adding up to a considerable $11.3 billion industry, grown 15 per cent in the past five years.
Nutritious and healthy food ranks high for this well-educated segment. IBISWorld have identified a surge in premium baby food. Says Ms Dobie: "Mothers are breastfeeding for shorter periods due to their busy schedules and lifestyle pressures."
In other words, get back to work, where the money is, but ensure the baby's well-being by giving it expensive care and healthy food. "This is driving sales in alternatives, organic infant formula, milk-free and gluten-free ranges", Ms Dobie said.
The other beneficiary of these older mummies is the fertility industry. The brilliance of our researchers and surgeons has attracted a prosperous flow of patients both local and from overseas, to some of the best IVF clinics in the world.
As many as one in six couples suffer fertility problems and seek medical help, with services reaching $550 million a year - a 110 per cent increase from five years ago. Last year there were 40,000 IVF cycles performed, delivering 12,200 babies. Among women aged 40-44, 15.1 births per thousand are IFV assisted.
So far royal babies have made their way into the world without external prompting, as will Princess Kate's.
Though it's a fair bet that she will not go on to emulate her great- great- great- great- great grandmother-in-law, Victoria. On top of ruling the Empire, she delivered nine times.
ray@ebeatty.com
