Strength in Collaboration: What Hurricane Melissa Teaches Us About Maternal and Infant Health
When Hurricane Melissa swept through Jamaica and other parts of the Caribbean, its damage extended far beyond the downed power lines and flooded roads. Behind every headline about collapsed bridges and damaged hospitals are countless quiet stories of mothers, newborns, and families navigating pregnancy and birth in the midst of disaster.
Moments like this remind us that maternal and infant health cannot be separated from the strength and preparedness of the systems that serve them.
When Disaster Strikes, Vulnerability Deepens
According to UNICEF, pregnant and lactating women are among the most vulnerable populations in the aftermath of natural disasters. Hurricanes disrupt access to clinics, limit the availability of skilled birth attendants, and compromise supplies of safe water, power, and essential medications.
In the case of Hurricane Melissa, midwives and nurses across affected regions faced immense challenges simply getting to their facilities. Power outages cut off incubators and electronic records, and roads were impassable for ambulances. These compounding barriers put additional strain on already overstretched health systems.
The Direct Relief team noted that disasters like this often trigger a “second crisis” where disruption of care becomes as dangerous as the initial storm. For expectant parents, even routine prenatal appointments can become impossible, leaving families anxious and unsupported during one of life’s most delicate transitions.
The Gaps Are Not New. They Are Exposed.
Hurricane Melissa did not create the shortage of obstetricians, midwives, or nurses. It revealed how fragile the system already is. In both high- and low-resource settings, workforce shortages continue to limit access to timely, respectful care.
When a crisis hits, these shortages grow more visible. The loss of a single provider can ripple through an entire region. Families who might have relied on a consistent nurse, doctor, or clinic suddenly find themselves without guidance or reassurance at precisely the moment when they need it most.
This is why a more collaborative approach to maternal and infant care matters, not only during hurricanes or earthquakes, but every day.
Collaboration as a Form of Preparedness
Doulas are not a replacement for nurses or physicians, nor are they a luxury add-on to traditional maternity care. They are part of an evidence-based, team-oriented model that fosters trust, communication, and continuity—qualities that can sustain a system when it is under strain.
In an emergency, that model becomes more than supportive; it becomes strategic. When power and communication lines are down, doulas who are already embedded in their communities can help families navigate where to seek safe care, provide emotional stabilization, and communicate essential information between patients and clinical providers.
Doulas can also play a quiet but powerful role in maintaining continuity of trust. The same relationship that helps a patient feel safe in the delivery room also helps them stay connected to health guidance when the usual channels are disrupted.
Just as importantly, doulas often work alongside midwives and nurses, reinforcing rather than replacing their care. This collaboration can ease communication bottlenecks, reduce anxiety, and help ensure that families understand their options in real time.
The heart of this model is connection between patients, families, and every member of the care team. When those connections are strong, they make the whole system more resilient, whether in a bustling urban hospital or a rural clinic cut off by floodwaters.
Building Systems That Can Withstand the Storm
For health systems and hospital leaders, Hurricane Melissa offers a sobering but constructive lesson. Resilience in maternal and infant health does not begin when a hurricane warning is issued. It begins in the relationships and infrastructure built long before disaster strikes.
Hospitals and community-based organizations can strengthen those foundations through:
Collaborative care planning: Integrating doulas and other non-clinical support professionals into maternal health protocols before emergencies occur.
Referral and communication networks: Ensuring that each patient can be connected to safe, trusted providers even when facilities are disrupted.
Training for disaster-sensitive maternity care: Including emergency birth readiness, trauma-informed communication, and culturally responsive support.
Community partnerships: Linking clinical and non-clinical care so information and emotional support continue to flow even when resources are scarce.
These are not extra measures; they are essential steps in building health systems that serve mothers and babies equitably, especially as climate-related disasters increase in frequency and intensity.
A Call to Think Beyond Recovery
As the region begins to rebuild, there is an opportunity to think forward. Integrating collaborative care models that include doulas, midwives, nurses, and physicians can help ensure that when the next storm comes, and it will, families will not have to navigate pregnancy or birth alone.
Whether in Jamaica, across the Caribbean, or anywhere that maternal health systems are tested by crisis, investing in those relationships now can mean the difference between vulnerability and resilience later.
A&A Doula Consulting remains committed to advancing these models, not as a business solution, but as a shared framework for care that honors both the science and the humanity of birth. The lesson of Hurricane Melissa is clear: when systems are connected, communities recover stronger.
