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Superstorm Sandy's "Blackout Baby Boom" Sparks 30% Rise in Births This Summer

By Christine Hsu | Update Date: Mar 01, 2013 11:49 AM EST

If you and your significant other got a little cozier than usual during Superstorm Sandy, you're not alone. Turns out when the power was out and there was nothing to do but sit at home and pray as Sandy terrorized the city, New Yorkers passed their time by getting busy in the bedroom.

According to New York Post, evidence of a Hurricane Sandy baby boom is starting to show among New Yorkers.  Hospitals and clinics in the areas impacted by Sandy are now seeing a spike in women with due dates in late July and early August, according the tabloid newspaper.  One New York maternity clinic has even seen a 30 percent rise in births this summer.

Linda Roberts, a nurse manager at an OB-GYN office in Westchester told the Post that she and others at the clinic are now preparing for a blackout baby boom.

"We started noticing a couple of weeks ago that we were getting really busy with phone calls and lab results and charts. We were like, what is going on here?" Roberts told New York Post. "And then all of a sudden, it dawned on me! This is right about the time when people would be coming in because they got pregnant during Hurricane Sandy."

"I looked at between July 15 and Aug. 15, which is when those people would be due, and sure enough, we have about a third more people delivering during that period than we usually have," she said.

Sandy had ripped across the east coast last October, leaving many in New York and New Jersey without power for weeks. More than 8.5 million homes and businesses had experienced power outages and trains and subways were shut down. 

Dr. Jacques Moritz, director of the division of gynecology at St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital, told New York Post that New York generally sees spikes in births after blizzards, storms and blackouts.

"In the past, there was a bump during 9/11, there have been bumps after blackouts and hurricanes, but Sandy went on for quite a while, and events that cause power outages really bring - how should I say this? - people closer together," Moritz said.

However, he notes that a less romantic reason for the baby uptick could be that people were stranded and unable to get access to their birth control

"Oh yeah, we've seen our share of Sandy babies," Mortiz, who owns a Midtown practice told the Post. "I've had five or six who have come in and pointed out to me, 'This is a Sandy baby!'"

"This group will be known as Sandy babies and proud of it. They have no qualms on that," he added.

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