Advertising

The Seattle Times Company

NWjobs | NWautos | NWhomes | NWsource | Free Classifieds | seattletimes.com

The Seattle Times

Local News


Our network sites seattletimes.com | Advanced

Originally published Thursday, October 9, 2008 at 12:00 AM

Comments (0)     E-mail article     Print view

Nine months after Ore. storm, a baby boom

ASTORIA, Ore. — A September baby boom at Providence Seaside and Columbia Memorial hospitals has some wondering just what exactly residents were doing at home nine months earlier when a December storm ripped through parts of the Oregon coast, downing power lines and leaving roads impassable for several days.

ASTORIA, Ore. — A September baby boom at Providence Seaside and Columbia Memorial hospitals has some wondering just what exactly residents were doing at home nine months earlier when a December storm ripped through parts of the Oregon coast, downing power lines and leaving roads impassable for several days.

"We were having fun," said one September mother, Jennifer Tarabochia of Astoria. "We didn't go out. But no one could get out."

Tarabochia, 26, gave birth to Brooklyn Erhlund at 1:50 p.m. Sept. 24, which put her among the 16 new mothers that month at Seaside Providence. That was double the number from August.

"Every year around the same time we have an outage or a storm," said Tonya Case, obstetrics supervisor at the hospital. "September is a busy month. We have never really planned for it before."

But, she added, "maybe we should plan for a busy September."

The jump was starker at Columbia Memorial Hospital in Astoria. While the average number of babies born in a month is 25 or 30, "we were scheduled for 50," said Steve Buckelew, the hospital's director of marketing. Although the hospital didn't reach quite 50, "we approached that number."

Although Sonora Cameron's baby, Finley, was born at Columbia Memorial on Sept. 12, almost nine months after the storm, she wasn't so sure there was a connection.

"It's more of a Christmas baby," she said.

Cameron was at her parents' house when the storm struck. "We played cards," she said. "We had a wind-up radio; we listened to the news a lot."

Still, Cameron remembers the nurses at Columbia talking about the boom. That conversation was going on at Providence Seaside, too, said Nancy Mazzarella-Tisch, an obstetrics nurse there.

Well, at least the nurses were talking. The moms, she said, were a little distracted. "They weren't in a reflective mood, especially not about what was causing this pain."

Copyright © 2008 The Seattle Times Company

More Local News headlines...

E-mail article Print view      Share:    Digg     Newsvine

Comments
No comments have been posted to this article. Start the conversation.

advertising

Food-safety lawyer's wish: Put me out of business

Illegal workers quietly let go

Metro won't cut bus service after all

Jerry Large: Food-bank theft turns into a gift

Bumper to Bumper: How can the city let bridges go dark?

Advertising

Video

Real Salt Lake wins MLS Cup
Real Salt Lake defeated the Los Angeles Galaxy with penalty kicks after 120 minutes of play at Qwest Field in Seattle.

Raw Video | Real Salt Lake receives the MLS Cup trophy
Raw Video | Real Salt Lake fans celebrate
Real Salt Lake fans enter Qwest Field
Raw Video | MLS Cup Opening Ceremony
LA Galaxy's David Beckham
Real Salt Lake's Kyle Beckerman
MLS trophy arrives in Seattle
Chittenden Locks Inspection
Full interview with New Moon actors

Marketplace

Open Houses

Find this weekend's open house listings.
Or search by location:

nwautos

Less is more: Group rides, good gas mileage have led to a scooter swarm in Seattlenew
Local riders say they've seen a surge in scooter interest in recent years, mostly from people wanting another commuting option. Seattle now ranks as o...
Post a comment

 
Most read
Most commented
Most e-mailed
 
 
Advertising