Health: 'Blizzard Baby' Boom
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- The blizzard babies are arriving! Remember all the snow we had in February? Now nine months later, we know how some people were staying warm.
Hospitals around the Philadelphia region are seeing a baby-boom, a spike in the number of deliveries. They're being called blizzard babies. Doctors say it's often what happens when people get stranded by the snow and snuggle up inside.
Giulia Carolla was born Monday. The warm bundle of joy brings back chilly, but sweet memories for her parents.
"We were snowed in quite a bit," says mom Amy Carolla.
She and her husband Jesse were stranded at home in South Philadelphia during the snow storms in February.
Amy said, "I just think you know, you're cooped up inside and ya know, things happen."
While the snow was piling up outside, some people were busy shoveling or sledding.
But plenty were getting cozy inside, according to Pennsylvania Hospital Obstetrician Leslie Renbaum who says, "Nine months after our big blizzard in Philadelphia, we've been seeing a big boom in babies."
Pennsylvania Hospital averages about 380 deliveries a month, but in October, they had 414 babies delivered, and they're in the midst of another boom in November.
Dr. Renbaum says, "It's been a lot of fun. It's been busy, but great."
The baby business is booming, doctors have been expecting it. It's what the stork brings after a blizzard they say.
"It's just very, very interesting to have so many people around you pregnant and expecting. It's great. It's a good thing to share." Amy said.
There's no science proving the baby boom is related to the blizzard and some experts say it's just an urban myth.
Reported By: Stephanie Stahl, CBS 3
