Fran made delivery interesting for expecting New Bern mother

For Joan Taylor, Hurricane Fran arrived in Eastern North Carolina at the worst possible time. The storm barreled into the area in 1996, a week before her baby's due date.

"I was so worried, because the doctor had told me that the changes in barometric pressure during a hurricane can cause women to go into labor," Taylor said.

With two children, ages 5 and 3, the Taylor family had to evacuate their home in New Bern and go to Greenville, where they snagged the last room in the Super 8 Hotel across from Pitt County Memorial Hospital.

"We were concerned that we wouldn't be able to make it to the hospital," Taylor said. "So we chose to stay where we could walk to the hospital if we had to."

Taylor said she and her family spent the entire night watching the tiles fly off the hotel roof and listening to the howling wind outside.

 "It was so frightening, not knowing when the baby would come," Taylor said.

The hurricane passed that night, and the Taylor family returned to their powerless home in New Bern the next morning.  That day, Taylor went into labor and gave birth to her daughter, Mimi.

"We almost named her Frances," Taylor said, laughing.