1 year into pandemic, Indianapolis hospital sees baby boom
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — One effect of the pandemic is being felt nine months later.
Community Hospital North is seeing a baby boom and it’s not expected to go away anytime soon. But doctors are also seeing an uptick in complications.
For six years running, Community Hospital North has delivered more babies than any other hospital in Indiana. Last month, they saw a 30% increase in births over last January.
Jamison Hoover, just 2 days old, will have quite the story to tell his kids one day.
“He was a surprise,” said his mother, Victoria Hoover.
“COVID baby,” added his father, Keegan Hoover.
Jamison was born Sunday night at Community Hospital North, right in the middle of the Super Bowl halftime show. He’s the third child in the Hoover family.
Keegan Hoover is a sales manager for a biotech company and has been homebound for most of the pandemic.
“They’re not traveling right now so I would say, it’s kind of how this guy came along. He was finally home,” Victoria said with a laugh, “and then here’s Jamison.”
A pandemic pregnancy brought a few extra problems for Victoria. No kids allowed at doctor’s appointments meant she always had to find a babysitter. Plus, she felt uncertainty about what COVID-19 could do to her or to Jamison growing inside her.
“We didn’t really know, have statistics been on people who were pregnant who got coronavirus, complications,” Victoria said.
She found appointments sometimes hard to get, too, thanks to all the other expectant mothers.
“Since the pandemic, it’s definitely causing a surge in OB cases,” said Dr. Rachel Riley, an obstetrics & gynecology specialist at Community North.
Preparations are already underway for March, when 500 babies are expected, compared to the typical 325 babies during that month. To help with the caseload, for expectant mothers who are willing and have low-risk pregnancies, obstetricians now alternate virtual visits with in-person appointments. Mothers take home equipment like blood pressure cuffs to monitor themselves.
“It has been really beneficial for patients, for those that work and those that have issues taking time out of their schedule,” Riley said.
But the pandemic has brought some negatives, too. Riley said she’s seeing more patients coming in with high blood pressure and other related problems, such as preeclampsia.
“A huge uptrend in blood pressure issues,” Riley said. “I do not know if that’s specifically related to the pandemic or diet or lifestyle.”
Victoria said she gained a little more weight with Jamison than other pregnancies, thanks in part to pandemic-related shutdowns.
But that’s all behind her now. Her reminder to other mothers: “As long as there is a healthy mom and healthy baby at the end, that’s all that matters.”
Victoria and Jamison are both doing great and expecting to go home Wednesday.
Meanwhile, other hospitals are not experiencing a baby boom.
Ascension St. Vincent has seen no change year-over-year yet and IU Health is actually expecting fewer pregnancies.
Riley said with more than 60 rooms spread over two floors dedicated to deliveries, along with other triage space, Community North should be able to handle the surge.
“Given our staff, the way they work and how efficient they are, I feel that it’s a challenge that we’re going to have, but I think we’ll be able to take it in stride,” she said.