25 babies in 24 hours, a record high for COVID-19 baby boomers amid the pandemic

DOTHAN, Ala. (WDHN) — If you’ve been on social media lately you may have noticed a wave of pregnancy announcement which caused a COVID-19 baby boom.

It only takes nine months to make a baby and we’re 10 months into a pandemic so you can do the math. At Southeast Health, family birth center manager Brittney Adams said they broke record highs for child births in just one day.

“In 17 hours we had a total of 16 babies then over the 24 hour period we had a total of 25 babies,” Adams said.

It was so hectic they couldn’t play their hospital lullaby to celebrate the new babies because it was so many, but with the COVID-19 baby boom they have ran into some challenges because of the CDC guidelines now in place.

“It actually has been very difficult even for our staff because we are so used to really trying to make sure we’re able to follow mom’s birth plan and making sure that everything she wants happens,” Adams said.

Now they only allow one support person that remains with them the entire time.

“I think sometimes when we cut back and just kinda get to the basic family unit they have been able to enjoy a lot more bonding time during this time period and a lot of our patients have loved it,” Adams said.

To mothers, she stressed connecting with those missing family members in different ways such as facetime and virtual meetings with families. Along with continuing to follow safety and sanitization rules like handwashing, wearing masks and staying inside.

Adams is happy Southeast had made it through the COVID-19 baby boom.