Alabama Storm Plan Focuses on Pregnant Women, Newborns

Health and county officials Wednesday announced a disaster and hurricane preparedness plan for pregnant women that will include a newly created special-needs shelter for expectant and postpartum mothers as well as newborns.

Working under a $9,000 grant from the Alabama March of Dimes, a group of officials created a disaster preparedness brochure detailing what pregnant and postpartum women should bring with them in case of evacuation, and it lists important telephone numbers, according to Dr. Kathy B. Porter, chairwoman of the University of South Alabama Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

The group is also working toward finalizing plans for a permanent "ob/newborn shelter" in Mobile County in case of a hurricane or other disaster, Porter said.

The shelter will be available as a last resort for women who are more than 35 weeks pregnant, have a high-risk pregnancy or have recently delivered, though women are encouraged to ask their doctor whether they need to go to the shelter in a disaster.

"If we can develop a pet shelter, we can develop a special-needs shelter for pregnant women," Porter said.

Officials did not say where the shelter will be and are currently asking statewide for volunteers from the medical community to help staff the shelter.

"It's a work in progress," Porter said.

A special-needs shelter for expecting moms could be done "hastily" if a hurricane were to threaten the coast in a week, for example, said John Kilkeilin, plans and operations officer with the Mobile County Emergency Management Agency, but a permanent plan will be completed within the next few months, well in advance of next hurricane season.

Officials also created a "master triage list" of where pregnant women in Mobile County should go - evacuate, stay in a special-needs shelter or, in the most high-risk cases, be admitted at an area hospital - depending on their condition and needs, Porter said.

The plans were created during a series of meetings with medical professionals and community organizations responsible for responding to disasters, including the USA Center for Women's Health, Alabama March of Dimes, Alabama Department of Public Health, Mobile County EMA and area hospitals.

ON THE NET

For a list of what to take when evacuating with a pregnant woman or a newborn and what to take to an ob/newborn shelter, visit the Alabama Department of Public Health's Web site, www.adph.org/perinatal.