This is a summary of a story originally on Duke Global Health Institute .
New research from the Duke Global Health Institute is bringing attention to a crisis few people think about after a natural disaster - how families feed their infants.
Aunchalee Palmquist, associate professor of the practice at the Institute, is studying what happened in western North Carolina after Hurricane Helene, when thousands of families suddenly lost power, clean water, and access to basic supplies. Her work shows that infant feeding, often overlooked in emergency planning, became a struggle.
Aunchalee Palmquist, associate professor of the practice at the Institute, is studying what happened in western North Carolina after Hurricane Helene, when thousands of families suddenly lost power, clean water, and access to basic supplies. Her work shows that infant feeding, often overlooked in emergency planning, became a struggle.
After Helene, many parents who relied on breast pumps couldn't use them because the power was out for days. Others who used formula found themselves without safe water to mix it.
Grocery stores were closed, roads were blocked, and families in rural areas were cut off entirely. A grassroots network, the SAFE Infant Feeding Team, created by Breastfeed Durham and the North Carolina Breastfeeding Coalition, stepped in to help.
Palmquist's research documents how these volunteers mobilized almost overnight. They collected and distributed donated breast milk and safe-feeding kits and traveled by foot, ATV, and even horseback to reach isolated families.
She hopes to document these stories through photographs and interviews, highlighting the challenges and creativity of community responders.
"Breastfed infants and people who are breastfeeding their babies also deserve to have support and interventions that are tailored to their needs too," said Palmquist.
The work builds on Palmquist's global research on breastfeeding in crisis settings, from refugee camps in Greece to displacement zones in Iraq. She has found that most mothers want to continue breastfeeding, but disasters strip away the support systems that make it possible.
The SAFE team is now working with counties across North Carolina to strengthen preparedness, but Palmquist argues that long-term solutions require integrating infant-feeding support into official emergency response systems.
