Hospitals Throughout Philadelphia Region Seeing Baby Boom More Than A Year Into Pandemic
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- A different type of surge may be on the way more than a year into the pandemic – a surge of babies. Right after the shutdown, many thought there would be a baby boom but that didn't happen then.
But now, the stork appears to be making up for lost time.
The Chestman twins, born Sept 16., are part of a baby boom happening at AtlantiCare's labor and delivery unit.
"They've been amazing," mother Tomi Chestman said.
Weighing 5 and 6 pounds, they're among 10 sets of twins born at the hospital over the last three months.
"I have a twin sister myself. She actually gave birth to her third baby Aug. 3," Jon Chestman said.
The twins are part of what could be a new national trend -- a delayed pandemic baby boom, according to a study published in JAMA.
"There's so many people having babies that we know of. I think it's kinda cool," Jon Chestman said.
The expected baby boom after the COVID lockdown was a bust -- births actually declined -- with Americans worried about the future.
But that trend is quickly reversing.
"I contribute it to around September last year because things started to improve with the pandemic," said Dr. Blair Bergen.
Dr. Bergen, the chairman of OB/GYN at AtlantiCare, says they normally deliver about 165 babies a month.
But this year in June, they had 193 deliveries, 194 in July, and 190 in August, for a total of 577 babies in just three months.
"It's exciting but it's very stressful. My daughter had a baby here in July, my first grandson," Dr. Bergen said.
Lankenau Medical Center also had a record number of deliveries in August --286 and 10 sets of twins.
For the Chestmans, who've been trying to conceive for five years, the babies are a bright spot in the pandemic.
The baby boom is challenging for many hospitals because of staffing shortages and the continued COVID safety protocols, but it's certainly a bright spot in an otherwise difficult time.
