Giving birth can be a daunting prospect at the best of times.
But for Jewelia Crowe, a premature birth combined with the arrival of a Category 4 hurricane made the experience even more terrifying.
The 28-year-old woman from Robbinsville, North Carolina, was due to give birth in December, but was admitted to the hospital on September 22 after experiencing “pain and pressure in her lower abdomen.”
Five days later, in the early hours of September 27, her water broke and when doctors told her to “start pushing,” she remembers looking out the window and watching the trees and power poles sway violently from the hurricane.
She told DailyMail.com that she and her fiancé, Sam Dillard, hadn’t really taken the hurricane into consideration, as “arriving 11 weeks early was pretty stressful, combined with the possibility of a C-section.”
However, as the deadly storm raged outside and her newborn son was rushed to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) at Mission Hospital in Asheville, the power went out and “nurses could be heard screaming” in horror.
Jewelia Crowe of Robbinsville, North Carolina, was due to give birth in December, but was admitted to the hospital on September 22 after experiencing pain in her lower abdomen.
At 1:41 a.m. on September 27, Ms. Crowe gave birth to a baby boy whom she named Phoenix. Weighed only 2lb 10oz
Crowe said he heard people screaming that the transformers had blown, but luckily there were generators to keep all the equipment running.
Ashville has been one of the hardest hit areas after Hurricane Helene.
At least 30 people have been confirmed dead in the city as rescue and recovery operations continue.
Despite some complications following her premature birth, Mrs Crowe’s son was able to breathe without assistance.
Referring to the chain of events surrounding her birth, she said: ‘At 1.41am I gave birth to a beautiful baby boy, who we named Phoenix.
“I couldn’t hold him immediately and the NICU doctors took him away at first because he was so small.
‘Once I was able to hug him, all I could do was cry. It weighed only 2 pounds and 10 ounces.
‘After my fiancé and I got cleaned up, we went to the NICU and that’s when the power went out.
When their newborn son was brought to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) at Mission Hospital in Asheville, the power went out and “you could hear the nurses screaming.”
Phoenix spotted at her baby shower in September, with no idea her son would arrive just over a week later
‘We could hear a nurse shouting that the transformers were exploding and we could see it from the windows.
“Luckily the generators were on and they took me back to my room so I could get some rest.”
Mrs. Crowe was released from the hospital on October 1, but Phoenix will have to stay in the NICU for some time until she is stronger.
The new mother, who is self-employed, said: “The hardest thing was being discharged from hospital knowing I had to leave my baby.”
“That’s something I was never prepared for.”
Phoenix was Crowe’s first child and she considered it a “miracle” as doctors previously told her she would not be able to conceive.
She threw a baby shower in mid-September with no idea she would give birth just over a week later.
Some studies have investigated whether severe storms can cause babies to be born earlier.
A set of research from East Carolina University sought to confirm the link between barometric pressure and preterm birth.
The researchers hypothesized that severe weather events that cause an extreme drop in pressure may lead to premature rupture of the fetal membrane. This in turn causes premature birth.
Debris seen after Hurricane Helene in Ashville, North Carolina
They concluded: “The model we used showed how the modeled stress of the fetal membrane varies depending on the barometric pressure and its gestational age.
“When the stress is greater due to a storm with a lower barometric pressure, this stress can exceed the resistance of the membrane before term of gestation, resulting in preterm birth.”
With her pregnancy, Ms Crowe said that after the abdominal pain, she had “contractions on and off all week” until her water finally broke.
With Phoenix still in the hospital, the new mom has had to travel back and forth between the NICU in Ashville and her home in Robbinsville.
He said he would stay closer if he could, but the hurricane has caused hotels in the area to close.
The round trip between his home and the hospital is almost four hours by car.
At home, Crowe says his house has not suffered any structural damage but there is no water or electricity.
He added: ‘In the midst of the chaos, we also lost cell service, had problems with gas and food.
“We were very lucky to miss the worst of it in our hometown.”
Offering some advice to other expectant mothers facing complications, Ms. Crowe concludes: “Never disappoint your hopes!”
“Always stay positive and be open to multiple birth options, where you never know which direction the pregnancy will go.”