SOUTHEAST BOMBARDED BY BABIES

Blame it on Y2K.

Experts suspect a minor baby boom nationwide has to do with the craziness nine months ago. National figures have yet to be tallied, but hospitals and obstetricians around the country say their numbers have been up all year. And September -- traditionally a big month for babies -- has been particularly busy.

The national boom is reflected at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau. Between Sept. 19 and 26, hospital staff delivered 46 babies, 42 percent of the month's total as of Wednesday. In the same week last year, 37 babies were born at Southeast.

The babies keep coming, and local moms have mixed reasons for their recent deliveries.

"Oh yeah. Too much partying," said Vanessa Holt-Phoenix, grinning in her recovery room at Southeast on Wednesday afternoon. Her son, Maurice LaTezes Valliant, who weighed 10 pounds, 9 ounces when he was born at 11:07 a.m., lay bundled in the nursery down the hall.

A wailing, pink Christain Alexzander Kitchen, who was born at 7:58 a.m. Wednesday, was the 112th baby delivered this month at Southeast. Three more moms were waiting to deliver that afternoon.

Christain's mother, Crystal Kitchen, said the New Year's holiday probably had something to do with her September delivery, although her due date actually was Oct. 6.

She said she was not aware of the national baby boom but could tell the hospital was busy when she arrived Wednesday morning.

"They only had two babies in the nursery when we came in, and the obstetrics unit was packed," Kitchen said.

Madonna Sanders, patient care director at the hospital, said parents have been talking about their possible New Year's Eve conceptions with a wink and a nudge.

"Rumor has it that these are the New Year's Eve celebration babies," she said. "That's what people are saying, anyway. That's what parents tell us and they kind of grin when they say it."

Hospital officials are not sure of the record number of births at Southeast, although Sally Owen, media coordinator at the hospital, said she thinks it probably was recorded nine months, give or take, after the blizzard of 1979.

She said Southeast didn't see a baby boom around Jan. 1 this year, even though some expected couples to aim at having the first baby of the year 2000.

Deborah Harshaw, 46, of Jackson, Mo., was walking around on the maternity floor Wednesday afternoon waiting for her newest delivery, Jacob Raymond, to be brought to her.

Harshaw is not new to the concept of delivery: Jacob is her eighth baby; her oldest child, a daughter, is 24.

Harshaw said New Year's Eve had nothing to do with her September delivery because she conceived in December and had not really planned on having another baby.

"At 46 years old? Are you kidding?" she said with a good-natured smile.

Harshaw said she had not heard about the national baby boom but knew the floor had been a little busy.

"It wasn't too bad," she said. "The nurses handled it very well. They are very good at what they do."

Sanders said the obstetrics staff is happily working overtime or coming in on days off to help out with the baby boom.

"Everybody just pitches in and works extra and works harder," she said. "It makes for long days, but when you get a healthy baby and a healthy mom, it's worth it."

Sanders said that, without having the records in front of her, it's difficult to keep track of how many babies are coming and going at the hospital. Most mothers stay an average of 36 hours.

"When you have this many babies, they just keep rolling in and rolling out. As soon as you get some in, there are others who are leaving," Sanders said. "It's feast or famine. Either there's nothing going on or everything is going on."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.