A report from WKBW out of Buffalo, New York, says doctors are expecting a baby boom in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.
Doctors in the area told the local station they are seeing more pregnant patients and expect hospitals will be busy in the coming months.
“Starting the first of the year, all the way through June, I think we’re going to have a really big increase in deliveries,” Dr. Maria Corigliano of Audubon Women’s Medical Associates in Buffalo told the station. “Because what do you have to do but eat and procreate!”
Corigliano said her practice delivers about 50 babies each month, but they expect to welcome about 80 each month in 2021.
A concern of hers is the availability of hospital beds, many of which are filled by patients with COVID-19.
Another impact of the spread of the virus is that pregnant women with the coronavirus could go into pre-term labor, which could lead to a longer hospital stay.
Although there has been an emergency approval of the coronavirus vaccine, it hasn’t been studied in pregnant women yet.
Despite the report out of New York, the boom hasn’t been reported or even expected across the country.
KOLD out of Tuscon, Arizona, reported Dr. Christine Farinelli, of Tucson Medical Center, said she hasn’t seen a pandemic baby boom or bust.
“We are definitely very busy,” she said. “We are often busy though this time of the year so my sense is we’re not necessarily seeing really either.”
According to a Tuesday survey from Modern Fertility, which offers at-home hormone tests, 30% of the nearly 4,000 people surveyed said they have changed their family plans due to COVID-19. Of the nearly 1,200 respondents who are changing their plans due to the pandemic, 48% are delaying having children.
And a Thursday report from Brookings Institute predicts a decline in births.
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