DCH has record breaking month for babies

dch-record-breaking-baby

To say the OB staff and physicians at Daviess Community Hospital have had an unusually busy month is an understatement. Officials at the hospital announced today that there were sixty-six births at DCH from August 1 – August 31. “This is a record month,” said OB Director, Shawna O’Kelley Brinson. “The previous record was 65 births in October 2014.”

Adrian and Barbara Swartzentruber from Loogootee had no idea on August 31st that their son would be the baby that broke the record. “I was actually due September 18th,” said Barbara. “My water broke while I was cleaning out my car, so my husband came home from work and took me to the hospital.” The couple welcomed their first baby, Carson Dean Swartzentruber, into the world later that afternoon.

Barbara chose Dr. Dennis Atienza and Daviess Community Hospital for her first pregnancy and delivery. “One of my co-workers had Dr. Atienza when she gave birth and was very happy with the experience,” she said. “It was Dr. Frances who actually delivered my son because Dr. Atienza was on vacation.”

The couple praised the physicians and staff at DCH for a wonderful experience. “All of the nurses were great,” said Barbara. “Carson wanted to sleep instead of eat, so they all gave advice on what to do to keep him awake and eating. It seemed like the same thing didn’t work twice, so I appreciated that they had different tricks and tips for me to try. The whole experience was great!”

The number of births in August is impressive, considering the hospital is nestled in a town of 12,000 people. “We deliver babies from several different zip codes both inside and outside of Daviess County,” said Brinson. “Some parents bypass two hospitals to come here from Illinois to give birth.”

In 2017, Dr. Dennis Atienza and Dr. Jonathan Frances delivered 500 babies. The preliminary numbers indicate that the 2018 births will exceed last year’s total. “We are on track to deliver well over 500 babies in 2018,” said Brinson. “We hope to be able to expand our unit in the future to accommodate even more patients.”

The summer has been the top season for births in the United States for decades, according to records kept by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and August often wins the title as the month during which the most babies are born.