The Doulas Bringing Babies Into The World During Hurricanes

The Doulas Bringing Babies Into The World During Hurricanes

The Doulas Bringing Babies Into The World During Hurricanes This article was originally published by The 19th, an independent, nonprofit newsroom reporting on gender, politics, policy and power. In the days leading up to Hurricane Irma’s landfall in September 2017, Esther Louis made preparations to flee Florida with her husband and four children. The Category 4 Hurricane was expected to hit the Florida Keys and make its way up the state, posing a risk to millions of residents. One of those residents was a client of Louis’ who was nine months pregnant and living in a home that the Miami-based doula feared was in too poor of condition to withstand the storm. As a doula, Louis was trained to provide holistic care to her client, anticipating all the factors that may affect her health. She worried about how the stress of an impending hurricane and evacuation could impact her client’s pregnancy. So she offered to escort her client and her family toward Georgia, where Louis was headed and where…