'Our little miracles' - the babies bringing joy to Skegness in lockdown

Darren Flanagan and his partner, Sheridan, had both been isolating at their home in Winthorpe before baby Layla was safely delivered at Boston Pilgrim Maternity Ward on Wednesday January 27..

The proud dad told The Standard he felt he was "brought back to life" seeing his precious daughter arrive into the world.:

"I had the dreaded virus in January and I never knew I would make it to see my bundle of joy," he said.

"I didn't know if I would make it let alone see the birth of our baby, Layla.

" I was ill for three weeks with COVID but had to stay at home and isolate.

"My partner also had it up to the birth and was caring for me as well as our other two children, aged six and two - it was very hard..

"We had to cancel first birth date due to us being ill. It was my partner that done everything for me as in care wise. I couldn't walk or breathe. I was scared to sleep in case it was my last breath. My temperature was way in the 40Cs.

"I was at the birth and nurses said I looked really ill but my little miracle Layla gave me my breath back and now recovering."

We live in Winthorpe. I was ill for three weeks with COVID but had to stay at home and isolate. My partner also had it upto birth. We had to cancel first birth date due to us being ill. It was my partner that done everything for me as in care wise. I couldn't walk or breathe. I was scared to sleep in case it was my last breath. My temperature was way in the 40s. I was at the birth and nurses said I looked really ill but my little miracle Layla gave me my breath back and now recovering. We also had to contend with two other children aged 6 and 2. It was very hard. I will send a photo of myself and Sheridan

A new generation of 'coronababies' are bringing joy to families in the Skegness area coping with life in lockdown.

It may not be baby boom that was predicted with couples spending more time at home together due to Covid-19, but that hasn't stopped the arrival of these bundles of joy hitting the headlines.

The latest name trends have apparently been inspired by the Netflix series Bridgerton - with Simon and Eloise among the top 10 choices.

So the Standard thought it would be fun to reach out to readers who may have had a baby over the past year to share the names they chose.

Another little 'miracle' is Maddison Esme Phillips, who was born on January 4 and is the daughter of Natalie Theaker and Ashley Phillips.

Maddison arrived 10 days after her due date of Christmas Day. "Our pregnancy started right at the beginning of the first lockdown, so we experienced the entire pregnancy during the pandemic," said Natalie.

"I have PCOS which makes it difficult to conceive and have suffered pregnancy losses in the past, hence why we refer to her as our miracle.

"As a result, her first name means strong fighter, and her middle name means beloved, admired and respected,"

Emma Price told us: "We had our little boy Alexander Jacob Ward-Price on December 2, 2020.

"e was meant to be due on December 8 and he came into our lives six days early.

"i was honestly panicking as they induced me on the Tuesday, had little man on the Wednesday and then on the Thursday got put into a little room with me and our new born, then got told I was positive for Covid-19,

"I’ve never been so scared in my whole life, knowing I’ve just gave birth to our beautiful son."

Other new arrivals in the Skegness area include:

Winter-Marie Andrews, born January 21. Her mum is Kelly Andrews and dad Jay Haxby.

Michael Victor Gonçalves was born October 21, 2020. Mum is Iwona Lipiec and dad Andre Miguel Gonçalves

Harry Simmons was born on August 26, 2020. Mum is Lucy Pearl and dad Nicholas Simmons.

Oliver Andrew David Foster was born on January 5.Mum and dad are Gemma and Andrew Foster.

BABY FACTFILE

According to data released by 80 NHS Trusts, United Lincolnshire recorded the 10th lowest number of babies born last year.

The trend at United Lincolnshire shows a reduction in the number of babies born over the past three years, dismissing any baby boom predictions.

In 2018, there were 1275 births, in 2019 there were 840 and last year numbers fell to 456.

Through history tragic events have been followed by a rise in births. Seventy-six million people were born between 1946 and 1964 during the post World War II baby boom.

Roughly 16 million people died in World War I, which ended in 1918. In 1920, about 1.1 million babies were born in the UK, all as the Spanish flu pandemic that killed 50-100 million people was winding down. The spike in birth rate was unprecedented.

In 1967, Nicolae Ceaușescu decided Romania's birth rate was too low. The country's Communist Party issued Decree 770, which banned abortion and the sale of contraception. The goal was to increase the Romanian population from 23 million people to 30 million, and the country's birth rate spiked from 14.3 births per 1,000 to 27.4 in one year.

In May 2009, FC Barcelona made it to the semi-finals against Chelsea, and won on a last-minute goal from Andres Iniesta. There was much rejoicing, and nine months later, the birth rate in Barcelona bumped 16% higher than usual for February.

Fears about job security, the health risks of COVID-19 and initial restrictions on partners being present at births may have a "negative impact on pregnancies", according to new research by PwC.

Just 569,000 babies are likely to be born this year, the report predicts. A decade ago, the figure was closer to 720,000.