ISABEL INSPIRED VIRGINIA LOVERS:

Hurricane Isabel wasn’t all bad, apparently. Martha Jefferson Hospital is reporting record numbers of births for June and July, and Isabel can take the credit. “The math works,” said Ann Nickels, Martha Jefferson’s spokeswoman. Isabel slammed Virginia Sept. 18, 2003. There were 168 births in June, and 163 in July—about 20 more than usual for each month. When Isabel struck, Martha Jefferson nurses said they knew they’d be facing a storm of their own nine months later. “Historically, when we have power outages or snowstorms, we’ll see a burst of babies,” nurse Kim Smith said. “With Isabel, the power was out for a long time.” While many of the new mothers acknowledged they were having hurricane babies, nurses said Isabel wasn’t a big topic of conversation. “The mothers just want to get the babies out,” said nurse manager Mary Ann Lucia. “They don’t talk about how they got the babies in.” None of the babies born in June or July at Martha Jefferson was named Isabel.