Monroe is 2021’s Baby New Year
Born at Boston Medical Center at midnight
Boston’s first New Year’s baby, little girl Monroe O’Hare, was born at Boston Medical Center just as 2021 was ushered in at midnight.
Monroe was born to parents Lauren and Chris at 6 pounds, 6 ounces, according to a BMC spokeswoman.
Each year, the communications offices at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Massachusetts General Hospital, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston Medical Center, Tufts Medical Center and St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center stay in touch to determine which hospital welcomes the first baby of the new year.
Last year, the New Year’s baby was born at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. Baby Dominick was delivered at exactly 12:00 a.m. on Jan. 1, weighing in at at 6 pounds, 6 ounces, and 19.5 inches long.
A recent report from Brookings Institute projects around 300,000 fewer births in 2021 in what is expected to be an upcoming “baby bust.”
The report cited several findings, including a decrease in sexual activity and data from Google Trends that shows searches for pregnancy-related terms such as “ultrasound” and “morning sickness” have fallen since the pandemic began.
In addition, the Brookings report said an increase in unemployment is associated with a decrease in birth rates, predicting a 5.5% reduction in births from the unemployment effect alone.
A survey from Modern Fertility, which offers athome hormone tests, shows 30% of the nearly 4,000 people surveyed said they have changed their family plans due to COVID-19.
Of the nearly 1,200 respondents who are changing their plans due to the pandemic, 48% are delaying having children.
Across the country, doctors have noticed varying trends. A report from WKBW out of Buffalo, N.Y., says doctors in the area are seeing more pregnant patients and expect hospitals will be busy in the coming months.
But KOLD out of Tuscon, Ariz., reported Dr. Christine Farinelli, of Tucson Medical Center, said she hasn’t seen a pandemic baby boom or bust.
One impact of the pandemic on pregnant women is that if they are infected with coronavirus, they could go into preterm labor, which could lead to a longer hospital stay.
While two coronavirus vaccines have been authorized in the United States, they were not tested on pregnant patients in clinical trials.
Pregnant women are still eligible to receive the vaccine, but its effects in that population are unknown.