Birth centers are looking to evacuate mothers and pregnant women who need care after Helene

ASHEVILLE – Birth centers in western North Carolina are evacuating mothers in need of prenatal and postpartum care and bringing infant nutrition specialists to Asheville due to a lack of running water in the wake of Tropical Storm Helene.

Melissa Poole, a senior midwife at Lilac Birth Center, said without water at the clinic, providers can’t serve mothers seeking labor and delivery services, breastfeeding support and other services she normally administers. Instead, most of the work is focused on coordinating evacuations so patients can seek care outside of WNC.

“We’re not seeing an influx of patients, we’re seeing an outflow of patients, because we don’t have running water,” Poole said. “We have no way to wash the sheets. There’s no way to sterilize our instruments. People can’t get into the shower or the bathroom, because there’s no water coming out of the faucets. And, there won’t be. for months, like that we are trying to help our clients move outside of North Carolina to places that have running water for their birth.”

More: Helene Recovery in Buncombe: Updates on Airport, Water System, Wells and FEMA Locations

While officials point to some progress in returning water to Asheville, it’s still unclear when that will happen.

Lilac Birth Center is the only clinic in Asheville certified by the American Association of Birth Centers, a membership organization that supports birth centers across the country. But with few resources, they have little information from independent birth centers and midwives about child and maternal health.

“I’ve heard stories about people trying to get health checks, even on horseback, because the roads aren’t there,” said AABC Executive Director Kate Bauer. “It’s really been a collective effort to serve such a vulnerable population.”

Expectant mothers who intended to give birth through a midwife go to hospitals for care at maternity hospitals, private clinics, or go out of state.

According to its website, hospitals in the Mission Health Hospital system vary in water conditions, with utility access fully restored in some locations and systems back up in others.

Angel Medical Center, Highlands-Cashiers Hospital, Mission Hospital McDowell and Transylvania Regional Hospital have running water, while Mission Health and Blue Ridge Regional Hospital use backup water systems. There is no running water available at Asheville Specialty Hospital.

“While our area is still experiencing a major municipal water outage, Mission Hospital has remained open for all emergencies,” a Mission Health spokesperson said. “Mission Hospital’s labor and delivery, and the region’s only neonatal and pediatric ICU, remain open and accepting patients as usual.”

More: The baby enters the world as Helene ravages western North Carolina

“Ground conditions in Asheville are not great for having a baby or feeding a baby,” Poole said. “You can live without energy, but it’s hard to live without water.”

Keeping babies clean and helping with breastfeeding services are among the top priorities for midwives at Lilac Birth Center and visiting maternal health specialists, according to Poole.

The North Carolina Breastfeeding Coalition responded to an infant feeding crisis caused by Tropical Storm Helene by bringing 20 infant feeding specialists, trained professionals who help mothers feed infants and toddlers through specialized services, to WNC through Oct. 13.

The organization coordinated volunteer services at the Lilac Birth Center. Tanya Jennings, client coordinator for the center, said the facility reached capacity and they are directing volunteers to a more centralized Asheville location at The Orange Peel, 101 Biltmore Ave. She added that teams of infant lactation specialists were distributing supplies and services to communities. more needs

Other organizations with locations throughout WNC include The Flow of Life Yoga. This organization usually provides funding to help those who cannot afford maternity care. After Helene, she has redirected all funds to help evacuate women who need prenatal and postpartum services and connect them to resources such as housing, food and clothing.

Flow of Life Yoga offers online information sessions on available resources on Thursdays at 7 p.m.

“There are so many communities that needed and still need child nutrition support right now,” Jennings said. “We don’t have running water in Asheville right now, so anyone using a motorized formula doesn’t have clean water to mix it with.”

She added that breastfed babies are also at higher risk because of the lack of running water.

“Breastfeeding parents, especially with babies or young babies, it’s hard to access care, so many doctors’ offices or hospitals can’t function at full capacity without clean water, so this organization is preparing kits emergency food to the communities that need it most,” Jennings said.

This article originally appeared in the Asheville Citizen Times: Maternal and child care affected by water shortage in Asheville, NC