Some Colorado doctors and hospitals report flurry of blizzard babies

DENVER -- Nine months after back-to-back blizzards brought life to a near-standstill in much of eastern Colorado, some doctors and hospitals say they're seeing one more bit of fallout: lots of babies.

Avista Adventist Hospital, north of Denver, has even printed up blizzard-baby T-shirts for newborns. Ricky Lee Romero, born Tuesday, has one.

Blizzards hit the Denver area Dec. 21 and Dec. 29, and snow covered the ground for 61 straight days. Ricky Lee's dad, Randy Romero, said he had came home one night after a long shift as a Denver snowplow mechanic to find that his partner, Dayna Wilson, had made dinner and put her two daughters to bed.

"We just cuddled up to get warm, and this happened," Romero said.

Exempla Good Samaritan Medical Center in Lafayette, north of Denver, said its maternity ward has been busy.

"Apparently, not everybody was shoveling snow," said David Hamm, hospital chief executive.

Obstetrician Steve Grover, who delivers babies at Sky Ridge Medical Center south of Denver, said the hospital expects an increase in deliveries in October.

"The snow stayed on the ground throughout December, January and into February. My theory is that the cabin fever didn't set in until a little bit later," he said.

Even with all the anecdotal evidence, no firm numbers were available, and at least one hospital, Boulder Community, said it is on pace for a normal month.

Purported booms from some past calamities have been debunked. Researchers from the University of North Carolina and Duke University showed there were no booms after a November 1965 blackout in the Northeast, or a July 1977 blackout in New York City.