Disaster Planning, Preparedness and Readiness for Expectant Mothers and the newly birthed.

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After the many tragedies of Hurricane Katrina and the stories of women that miscarried, spontaneously birthed and those that died due to lack of care and specific attention needed to care for Pregnant Women, our plan became the first of its kind, in the US, to offer assistance to the local agencies with specific attention toward the Maternal Care Client. Here is some of the focus points...

Designated Shelters

• Medical services for pregnant women and infants provided at the shelter
• Furniture and equipment – cots and chairs for pregnant women, cribs
• Health and hygiene needs for mothers and infants and pregnant women
• Area for bottle washing or method for bottle exchange
• Identification of women and children via ID bracelets
• Location near a hospital
• Educational materials for pregnant women and families with infants

 
Basic Supplies and Equipment

• Medical supplies - disposable medical supplies
• Health and hygiene needs for mothers and infants – ready to feed formula, diapers including preemie diapers, infant and preemie pacifiers, infant clothes, breast pumps, breast pads, feminine hygiene products
• Health and hygiene needs for pregnant women – maternity clothes, bras, underwear, over the counter prenatal vitamins, feminine hygiene products
• Furniture and equipment – cribs, car seats, strollers

 
Prenatal care Plan for ALL Mothers

• Plan to advise public on where to get prenatal care and well baby services
• Information on availability of Disaster Medicaid and information on various health insurance plans and what coverage is provided
• Prenatal care and well baby services for women living in shelters and  temporary housing
• Transportation to get women and infants to follow-up prenatal care and well baby services.

 
Safe environments to birth

• Plan to provide alternative locations for safe deliveries in the event that existing facilities are not available
• Plan to provide medical personnel for deliveries in the alternative locations
• Plan to advise the public on accessing alternative locations
• Information on availability of Disaster Medicaid and information on various health insurance plans and what coverage is provided
• Method to provide women with their own digital prenatal health records

 
The ability to keep all family members together and accounted for

• Hospitals should have a plan in place outlining where infants will be evacuated to in an emergency
• Method to keep digital health records with patients during a disaster when possible
• Duplicate methods to get in touch with family members including out-of-state contacts provided for all infants and kept with the infants’ records
• Method to connect parents and infants such as a website (specific to moms and babies), hotline, and direct contact information for the hospital

 
Educational material for transition

• Educational materials on disaster preparedness and recovery
• Educational materials on all maternal and child health issues
• Public information about how to access prenatal and well baby services
• A way to reach women in rural and hard to reach areas
• A way to reach women when traditional methods are not available

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