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There's been much speculation as to whether the pandemic would lead to a baby boom. Many believed that lockdown would provide the perfect opportunity for couples to begin or expand their families. However, there have been mixed results worldwide, with France recording a sharp drop in the birth rate in January.
Thankfully, things seem to be looking brighter on the baby front now. In fact, researchers at Michigan Medicine Von Voigtlander Women’s Hospital have predicted an increase in baby births this summer. And they might be right.
Andrews Women's Hospital at Baylor Scott & White All Saints Medical Center in Texas has just broken its baby boom record. The hospital recorded a staggering 107 births in just 91 hours, between June 24 and June 28.
While the hospital's maternity wards are generally busy, with a previous record of 48 births in 41 hours this baby boom seems to back the thoughts of medical professionals expecting a rise in summer births.
Michelle Stemley, a labor and delivery nurse at the hospital, explained to Good Morning America that couples were more at ease with "expanding their families after things with the quarantine started to get to be the new normal."
Luckily the hospital is well prepared for the arrival of all these tiny bundles. With careful coordination they've managed to get moms and babies through the different procedures safe and sound. "The team was working very hard but we were having a lot of fun taking care of all of these families during these busy times," shared Stemley.
OBGYN Dr. Jay Herd said he didn't feel a huge difference in his workload as his unit is always busy, but he does think the boom will continue. "Seven or eight months from now, we're going to see lots of … population growth," he predicts.
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If you're wondering whether you'd like to welcome a new baby into your lives during the pandemic, click on the slideshow below to see why these moms and dads chose to add to their families:
