Posted: 1/6/2004 11:56:19 AM EDT
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Colorado Snow Storm Leads To Boom Of Blizzard Babies POSTED: 8:16 AM PST January 6, 2004 DENVER -- Cabin fever is alive and well in the West. Hospital officials say the monster blizzard that kept people indoors across Colorado last year led to a spike in the number of December babies. "We had more babies born in December -- exactly nine months after the blizzard -- than in any other month last year," said Len Gregory, spokesman for St. Mary-Corwin Hospital in Pueblo. Added Lynne Snyder, head of newborn services for Avista Adventist Hospital in suburban Louisville: "We were overflowing there for a while." Snyder said it is not unusual for a surge in births 40 weeks after major events like the Denver Broncos' first Super Bowl victory. The snowstorm started March 17 and shut down Colorado cities big and small for several days. Nearly 9 feet of snow fell in the mountains and half that total paralyzed the heavily populated Front Range along the eastern slopes of the Rockies. The state health department won't have final birth figures until next month, but spokeswoman Cindy Parmenter said she wouldn't be surprised if the numbers back the anecdotal evidence of a baby boomlet. Nicole Maria Walker is one of this year's blizzard babies. She was born at 4:01 a.m. Jan. 1. "We certainly will never forget this new year," said Nicole's mother, Regina. |