Kim Blanche and her husband are expecting their third child, a little boy, in October. But her condition makes her think differently about hurricane season.

“I wouldn't even think about staying here now being pregnant,” Blanche said.

Two years ago, as a Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Deputy, she patrolled in the aftermath of Katrina and remembers running into a desperate father.

“There was this one guy who we ran into in one of the stores, and he kind of got afraid when he seen the car pulled up,” Blanche said. “But he was actually getting milk and pampers. When he saw us, he dropped it. I was like, don't drop it. just go get what you need. You know it's for the baby.”

The head of the city's health department, Dr. Kevin Stephens, remembers his days in the Dome helping people in the Katrina aftermath. He especially remembers a pregnant woman in her third trimester who never left his side.

“I can remember vividly I was standing right in front of the bus with her,” Stephens said, “and she looked at me and she said, ‘Dr. Stephens, should I get on or should I stay with you?’ and I said, ‘Well, I don't have a delivery room here.’ ”

“What we know in obstetrics is things happen very quickly,” said Touro OB-GYN Dr. Jocelyn Greely. “And you could fine one day and five minutes later, 10 minutes later or even the next day, you could have an emergency that could be a life-threatening situation for the mother and or the baby.”

Greely said all pregnant women and mothers with children younger than one need to evacuate with all the proper necessities.

“Dehydration, as simple as it is, can cause preterm contractions and preterm labor,” Greely said. “Of course, (with) the contaminated water, moms can develop any type of infections.”

And young children are more prone to infections passed through the mother.

“Even if you are breast feeding your baby, if you're taking in contaminated products - that could be transmitted to your baby,” Greely said.

And when moms do leave, they should remember to get out of the car often to stretch, massage and exercise their legs.

Here's what you need to know if you're pregnant or a new mother and evacuating:

-Be near a place with 911 and an emergency room;
-Take medical records with you;
-Don't go to local hospital;
-Eat healthful food;
-Have clean water;
-Get away from stress, which can cause the baby to be premature.