WATCH: Hospitals Seeing Spike in Births Nine Months After Hurricane Harvey
It’s been nine months since Hurricane Harvey slammed the Texas coast, and some Corpus Christi hospitals are still dealing with the effects of the monster storm—in the form of tiny fingers and toes.
According to KHOU, area hospitals have reported a recent spike in baby deliveries. Staff couldn’t help but notice that the spike happens to synch up perfectly with the days many residents spent cooped up indoors, anxiously riding out the storm together.
"We've had about a 17% increase so far in the month of May for deliveries," Liberty King, Director of Women's and Neonatal Services at Corpus Christi Medical Center, told KHOU.
King said that's about 50 to 60 more deliveries than normal for this time of year. A baby boom indeed.
You might recall that Hurricane Harvey made landfall as a Category 4 storm on August 25 near Rockport, a coastal city located about 30 miles northeast of Corpus Christi. The storm moved on to bring catastrophic rainfall to the Houston area and cause $125 billion in damage.
"Anytime people get nervous, I think they start spending more time together. And, well it can lead to an increase in family size," King said.