NASHUA, New Hamp. (CNN/WMUR) -- Nine months have passed since a powerful snow-packed nor'easter hit New Hampshire. Couples were stuck at home without power. Now hospitals are seeing a boom in babies.
Kelly Rodrigues and her husband welcomed their second child into the world just before five Tuesday morning inside Southern New Hampshire Medical Center's Birthplace Unit where things have been very busy lately. Carol McIntyre says, "It's been all hands on deck and we have a phenomenal team here so...yes, they've all pulled together."
The hospital typically welcomes 20 to 25 babies into the world in an average week, but as of late, they've been delivering about twice that number, starting two weeks ago. McIntyre says, "We usually see a little spike up in July because the winter season is starting, but this year it seemed just a little bit more."
The hospital has had staff working overtime and they've had to open up rooms outside the dedicated birth place unit to accommodate all the expecting moms. Kelly Rodrigues is not surprised. She remembers the nor'easter that knocked out power in her town of Hudson back around Halloween.
Rodrigues says, "In Hudson we have well water...so, you can't flush toilets, you can't take showers." She and her husband were without power for two weeks. She adds, "Needless to say within one week of all the power being out, we conceived miss Juliana."
Hospitals as far south as New Jersey have been seeing this baby boom. Some note they also saw an increase in deliveries in April and May nine months after Tropical Storm Irene.