Fort Riley ? A baby boom at Fort Riley will bring a new addition to the fort.

The post plans to build a $2 million child development center because of an increase in births related to the war in Iraq, said Jana Helton, child and youth services coordinator for Fort Riley.

“The Army has discovered that the reason babies are going to be born is because of the deployment,” Helton said. “We have a lot of pregnant ladies at Fort Riley.”

Between 600 and 700 pregnant women have lived at the post since the start of the war in Iraq — roughly double the number before the war.

The child care center is part of a pilot project for the armed services, with each of the four branches of the military receiving aid for such facilities. Helton said the pregnancy rate at Fort Riley led to the post being chosen for the Army’s new child care center.

Initially, the new center will be for infants and toddlers; it will evolve into a preschool as the children age, Helton said.

The new center will be built next to the existing child development center but will have its own kitchen and staff. It will have space for about 60 children.