Choosing a baby's name can be a tough decision for parents.
Nine months after Hurricane Sandy battered the northeast, maternity wards could be bracing for a flood of a different sort. The New York Post reports that in some areas still reeling from the destructive October superstorm, hospitals and doctors are noticing an uptick in July and August due dates.
In some instances, doctors are seeing a 30 percent spike in late summer due dates. It’s not hard to imagine what’s behind this: Cooped up with no light or power, New Yorkers who endured the storm had time on their hands — and, shall we say, the perfect mood lighting.
The concept of a baby boom following a stressful event or storm is nothing new. “There was a bump during 9/11, there have been bumps after blackouts and hurricanes,” Dr. Jacques Moritz, director of the division of gynecology at St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital, told the Post.
As Business Insider points out, the post-crisis baby boom theory dates back at least to the November 1965 blackout in New York City. The following August, the New York Times marked a “sharp increase of births” in an article entitled, “Births Up 9 Months After Blackout.” (Although also according to the Times, that report was later debunked.) Aside from the common-sense theory that people are bored with nothing to do, some postulate that a lack of access to birth control could be a factor.
Next we’ll see if ‘Sandy’ climbs the ranks of the most popular baby names of 2013.
MORE: Three Months After Sandy: Inside the Rebuilding of New York University’s Research Labs