Hospitals in southern Florida are preparing for greater demand for labor and delivery care with Hurricane Irma nearing, as healthcare professionals link the drop in barometric pressure with higher birth rates, according to the Houston Chronicle.
When Hurricane Harvey hit Texas and Louisiana, Houston-based Memorial Hermann reported five of its area hospitals experienced higher-than-usual birth rates during the storm. Three of those hospitals reported birth rates were double their weekly average.
"When the storms start brewing and the barometric pressure changes, that's when the mothers start showing up," said Gail Saunders, the director of Women's Services at Memorial Hermann Katy (Texas).
Though the correlation is accepted as truth among many in the healthcare community, it remains scientifically unproven.
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