So what did federal workers get up to when they had two weeks off?

The US government shutdown last year, when thousands of federal employees were sent home from work, triggered its own “baby boom”.

From 1 October until 16 October the US government curtailed most routine operations after a dispute with Congress and according to nurses at hospitals in Washington DC, nine months later there has been an increase in births, according to the Washington Post.

“We keep getting asked, ‘What’s going on?’ ” said Yulette Newman, a nurse at Sibley Memorial Hospital. “And we say, ‘Well, you’re in DC. What was happening nine months ago?!’”

According to some local hospitals, one apparent after effect of the 16-day October furlough has made its way into maternity wards.

At Sibley, for example, an average of 9.2 births occur daily. During the past month, that number has increased by three births, or 32.6 percent, per day.

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