During Milton's relentless barrage of strong winds and floods, numerous Florida mothers welcomed newborn babies.
Amidst the furious release of devastating cyclones, power outages, and widespread flooding, numerous mothers throughout the state found themselves giving birth – some as first-time mothers – under far from ideal circumstances.
In Polk County, sheriff’s deputies stepped in to organize an emergency transport to the hospital for a mother who went into labor in the midst of the night during Milton's rampage. With ambulances incapacitated due to high winds, the law enforcement officers offered their patrol car to escort Zenia and Javier to the medical facility, as reported by the Polk County Sheriff’s Office via their social media platform.
To the west, a Pinellas County evacuation shelter for hurricane survivors welcomed a newborn amidst the storm's fury.
"Our shelter staff assisted with the delivery," said Emergency Management Director Cathie Perkins. "It was a truly remarkable sight to witness new life emerging in the midst of all this chaos."
CNN spoke to three first-time mothers who endured delivery during Milton's impact on the state. Here are their stories.
An intense 12-hour delivery
Madeline Furnas could see the fierce rain brought about by Hurricane Milton through her hospital room window, but she knew she had to focus on the birth of her first child.
"As things became increasingly serious and it appeared that the storm was heading straight through the state, we started to feel more anxiety," Furnas, a registered nurse in Tavares, Florida, shared with CNN.
With Milton just hours away from landfall, Furnas and her spouse, Grant, drove to the AdventHealth Waterman hospital in Tavares, roughly 35 miles northwest of Orlando, due to concerns raised by their doctors regarding Furnas’ imminent labor, she detailed.
She eventually went into labor that very night as Milton kicked off its destructive landfall and marched inland, Furnas said. As she lay in the delivery room, Furnas shared they could feel the "tension" of the storm.
"My contractions had truly picked up. I was starting to feel quite uncomfortable," Furnas said. "The rain was pounding against the windows, and the palm tree outside was being tossed about like a ragdoll."
Following 12 hours of labor, Furnas delivered her daughter, Charlotte – one of 67 babies born across Florida's AdventHealth hospitals during Milton's onslaught.
Numerous nurses, physicians, and specialists tended to expecting families in Orlando, Tampa, Daytona Beach, Orange City, Tavares, Winter Park, and Altamonte Springs, AdventHealth reported in a press release. Nearly half of the babies were delivered across 14 AdventHealth hospitals in the Tampa area, according to the hospital system.
Dr. Mamie Rogers, who assisted in delivering Furnas' daughter, informed CNN that the hospitals made adjustments to their staffing and attempted to maintain a sense of tranquility within their facilities, assuring patients that they were providing the highest level of care despite the raging chaos outside.
"Even though the storm was wreaking havoc outside, we still managed to maintain calm within our doors and take excellent care of our patients," Rogers said.
'I feel incredibly fortunate'
In nearby Orlando, another couple found themselves uncertain of how long their hospital stay would last.
Shaniya Dunchie, 27, began experiencing contractions on October 9 and promptly headed to the hospital.
"I knew that I wanted to be at the hospital before the storm arrived because I didn't want to be at home giving birth. I didn't know how the roads would be once we reached the hospital," said Dunchie, an early childhood educator in Winter Park, Florida.
Dunchie, who was experiencing labor for the first time, had no idea what to anticipate, as most of her family was forced to remain at home due to the storm. But after four hours of labor, her son, Shamar, was delivered.
"I feel incredibly fortunate to have had the hospital staff there during the hurricane, as I'm unsure whether I would have managed it all on my own had I still been at home," Dunchie stated.
Both Furnas and Dunchie confirmed that they returned home to find their properties untouched by the storm's wrath.
For now, Furnas is reveling in her newfound role as a mother with her "charming little bundle of joy." In the future, she expects to share a riveting story with baby Charlotte about her arrival during the pandemonium of the storm.
"In the midst of the chaos, she decided to make her entrance... even though it could have been a scary experience. I don't hold any negative feelings towards it at all. I believe her birth unfolded exactly as it should have," Furnas shared.
Bringing home baby to storm damage
On the brink of her due date, Hurricane Milton forced Hally Bojadzija and her husband Irfan to evacuate their St. Petersburg home, which had previously sustained damage from Hurricane Helene shortly before.
The couple relocated to a relative's house in Jacksonville, she reported to CNN. What normally would be a four-hour ride transformed into an eight-hour trek as thousands of Floridians evacuated the state.
"Thursday morning, around 6 a.m., I woke up and started having contractions, and my due date was on Tuesday night, so the day before the storm hit," Bojadzija said.
By the time the storm had passed, Bojadzija, 33, had been denied admission to a Jacksonville hospital because she was not sufficiently dilated. So, she and her spouse packed up and drove back home to the west coast.
"We were nervous about the drive home, but we decided to head directly back to [St. Petersburg], and the journey took about five hours. Fortunately, traffic wasn't as bad, but I was having contractions the whole time, making the trip extremely uncomfortable," Bojadzija said.
The expecting parents arrived at Orlando Health Bayfront Hospital in St. Petersburg on Thursday afternoon. The hospital was under a boil water advisory and the staff was running low on energy, she mentioned.
"We were advised against using the tap water for showering as it was drawn from the well and had an unpleasant odor, making it an unusual experience for us," Bojadzija explained. "I can't thank the staff enough for their tireless efforts through the storm, even though I know they were exhausted."
By Friday afternoon, Bojadzija had given birth to a healthy baby girl and power was restored back at their home.
However, managing a newborn and dealing with storm damage has presented some challenges for the couple, Bojadzija shared. Now, they are on the lookout for temporary accommodation while renovations take place on their house.
"We're nevertheless unsure about our temporary housing arrangement as we cannot remain here with a newborn surrounded by mold and construction work," Bojadzija said. "This kind of damage is something new for me."
The couple plans to relocate to a home situated further inland at some point, but they have no intention of leaving Florida.
"We had high hopes for a fall baby given the pleasant weather and the chance to celebrate the birth around the holidays," Bojadzija chuckled. "But in light of hurricane season, we might consider a different time frame for the next one."
CNN’s Sarah Dewberry and Andy Rose contributed to this report.
In the midst of the chaos caused by Hurricane Milton, US nursing staff at AdventHealth Waterman hospital in Tavares, Florida, worked tirelessly to deliver Madeline Furnas' daughter, Charlotte. This was one of 67 babies born across AdventHealth hospitals during the hurricane's onslaught.
After experiencing contractions and heading to the hospital before the storm, Shaniya Dunchie from Orlando gave birth to her son, Shamar, under the care of hospital staff during the hurricane's impact. Dunchie believed she was fortunate to have the hospital support during this challenging time.
