On Monday there were serious disruptions on Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram worldwide. The three largest social networks were inaccessible or hardly usable for hours. Experts therefore expect considerably more births than usual in about nine months. “In situations like this, people don’t know what to do at first,” explains Dr. Thomas Frerichs from the Charité in Berlin. “Some panic, others just scream their status updates out of the window in their desperation or throw printed selfies at passers-by. But after a while, many suddenly realize that they have a partner they haven’t looked at for months. “
Experts therefore expect an enormously high birth rate in June 2022. Up to 500,000 additional children could be born, estimates the Federal Statistical Office, which recorded 182 percent more moans from tilted windows throughout Germany than usual at this time of day. Clinics are therefore already starting to recruit staff in order to be able to cope with the expected large crowds in the coming summer. A vacation ban was imposed on the critical dates for midwives and gynecologists. The Ministry of Education, in turn, is already creating a financial cushion for additional classrooms and teachers in the school year 2028/29. Overall, however, the situation can be managed. Dr. Frerichs: “We can be happy that Twitter, YouTube, Netflix or even Pornhub did not fail at the same time, otherwise we would be facing a real birth disaster. God forbid!”
