According to Dr. Melissa Richards, an OBGYN at Olmsted County Medical Center, the hospital is expected to hit 1,000 births in 2020, which is something OMC hasn't done in more than five years.
That being said, she believes the "boom" won't be as drastic as some predict. "I wouldn't call it a boom, but maybe a bump," Dr. Richards told KTTC. "In 2019, we had 58 deliveries in December," Dr. Richards said. "This year, we are tracking to deliver 80 patients."
Lyman Stone, a research fellow at the Institute for Family Studies, pointed out that “events that cause a large increase in deaths tend to cause a large decrease in births nine months later.” Which is the complete opposite of the popular belief that a major natural disaster would inspire Americans sensing their own mortality to grow their families.
The researcher cited natural disasters such as hurricanes and famines, as well as previous pandemics to support the claim, saying that would-be parents may be traumatized by fear or concerned about how they would care for children during difficult and uncertain times. Still, such declines are often temporary.
