To reach moms, babies in Louisiana's maternal care deserts, these doctors fly
From the For Dear Life: Louisiana’s Infant Mortality Crisis series
In Louisiana, nearly a third of women lack a single obstetrician in their home parish who can provide routine pregnancy care.
A team of maternal-fetal medicine specialists based at Woman's Hospital in Baton Rouge takes turns flying around Louisiana to care for patients who otherwise don't have access to high-risk pregnancy care.
Full story: Louisiana has an infant mortality crisis. Solving it would save hundreds of babies.
Louisiana has one of the highest rates of infant mortality in the developed world — and it's not getting any better.
Every year, nearly 200 babies across the state die after being born too early, too tiny or from complications their mother experienced in pregnancy.
Take a look at a day in a life of these doctors and the patients they meet.
Editor's Note: This is the first in a series examining Louisiana's infant mortality crisis. For this story, The Times-Picayune | The Advocate shadowed a maternal-fetal medicine specialist for a day while patients consented to being interviewed and photographed.
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After a long day of work, the Mississippi River, far left, can be seen outside the airplane window as Dr. Edward 'Ted' Veillon flies back home from north Louisiana after seeing patients in north Louisiana.
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Jonathan Davis gently touches the belly of his wife, Amber, as they get an update on their baby from Dr. Edward 'Ted' Veillon, a maternal-fetal medicine specialist, at St. Francis Medical Center in Monroe.
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Dr. Marc de Soler, a neonatologist and the medical director for the neonatal intensive care unit at St. Francis Medical Center in Monroe, does a daily assessment on a baby born at 28-weeks gestation.
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An expectant mother holds onto an ultrasound photo of her baby while lying on a table at St. Francis Medical Center.
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Ashley Mitchell smiles as she looks at the first ultrasound photos of her baby.
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Jasmine Sims, 26, holds her infant, Israel, who was born at 23 weeks at St. Francis Medical Center.
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Miranda Figueroa, an RN supervisor in the neonatal intensive care unit at St. Francis Medical Center in Monroe, assembles a graduation outfit for a premature baby that was close to finally leaving the hospital. She said they give the donated outfits to babies that have been in their care for a long time.
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Jasmine Sims, 26, holds her infant, Israel, who was born at 23 weeks at St. Francis Medical Center. Sims stands next to the shelf of medicines that she will have to take home and administer to her baby. The hospital gives a discharge education to help parents figure out how to take care of their premature babies once home.
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Dr. Edward "Ted" Veillon, a visiting maternal-fetal medicine specialist from Woman's Hospital in Baton Rouge, walks out of an exam room after seeing a patient at St. Francis Medical Center in Monroe.
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Jasmine Sims, 26, holds her infant, Israel, who was born at 23 weeks at St. Francis Medical Center in Monroe. She stands next to the shelf of medicines, at right that she will have to take home and administer to her baby. The hospital gives a discharge education to help parents figure out how to take care of their premature babies once home.
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Dr. Marc de Soler stands next to RN Christa Lewis, director of women's and children's services, as he makes his rounds.
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Words of inspiration on a wall at the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) at St. Francis Medical Center in Monroe.
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Jasmine Sims, 26, with a photo of her baby, Israel, who was born at 23 weeks at St. Francis Medical Center.
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Christy Zavala shows her granddaughter, Mariana Flores, 4, an ultrasound photo of her baby brother as Flores' mom, Alyssa Nieves, lies on a nearby table.
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Danielle Jules, 30, holds up the ultrasound photo of her first baby during a visit with Dr. Edward "Ted" Veillon.
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A billboard along a Monroe highway promotes St. Francis Health and says "Highest level of NICU Care."
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Dr. Edward "Ted" Veillon walks to a private airplane for his flight from False River Regional Airport to Monroe to see patients.
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Savannah Gee, 24, of Calhoun, Louisiana, wipes a tear as she talks with Dr. Edward "Ted" Veillon, about her frustrations in trying to get pregnant.
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Renovating the exterior of St. Francis Medical Center in Monroe.
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Dr. Edward "Ted" Veillon, center, a visiting maternal-fetal medicine specialist at St. Francis Medical Center in Monroe, explains to Kenneday Jackson, 18, that her baby will likely be born with a cleft palate.
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The tiny hand of a baby born at 28-weeks gestation touches the stethoscope held by Dr. Marc de Soler, a neonatologist and the medical director for the neonatal intensive care unit at St. Francis Medical Center.
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Jasmine Sims, 26, holds her infant, Israel, who was born at 23 weeks at St. Francis Medical Center.
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Jonathan Davis patiently sits with his wife, Amber, as they wait to get an medical update on their baby from Dr. Edward "Ted" Veillon.
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Dr. Marc de Soler, a neonatologist and the medical director for the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) at St. Francis Medical Center in Monroe, looks over a map of north Louisiana.
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Before seeing his first patient, Dr. Edward "Ted" Veillon, checks medical reports while also getting some breakfast as he starts his day St. Francis Medical Center in Monroe.
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An empty lot where a building was recently torn down outside St. Francis Medical Center in Monroe. There are plans to use this area for future expansion.
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Dr. Edward "Ted" Veillon gets settled in for a day of work at St. Francis Medical Center in Monroe.
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The early morning light leaves long shadows as Dr. Edward "Ted" Veillon, who flew in minutes before from Baton Rouge, walks with staff of St. Francis Medical Center.
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Dr. Marc de Soler, a neonatologist and the medical director for the neonatal intensive care unit at St. Francis Medical Center in Monroe, carefully scrubs his hands before looking at a baby that was born at 28 weeks gestation.
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A hallway at St. Francis Medical Center in Monroe.
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A waiting room at St. Francis Medical Center.
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LaShondra Leonard, 36, gets help sitting up from Dr. Edward "Ted" Veillon.
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Dr. Edward "Ted" Veillon, a maternal-fetal medicine specialist, in the elevator at St. Francis Medical Center in Monroe. Veillon is based at Woman's Hospital in Baton Rouge and often flies across the state, getting picked up at airports by local hospital staff, who then drive him to the hospital to see patients.
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Lauren Matthews looks at the ultrasound photos of her baby while waiting to talk with Dr. Edward "Ted" Veillon at St. Francis Medical Center. Matthew's first child was born with cystic fibrosis and she has concerns her next child could also have it.
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LaShondra Leonard, 36, cries as she looks at an ultrasound of her baby during a visit with Dr. Edward "Ted" Veillon.
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Dr. Edward "Ted" Veillon moves an ultrasound across the belly of Lauren Matthews at St. Francis Medical Center. She and Dr. Veillon talked at length about the possibility of her second baby also having the disease.
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Louisiana has an infant mortality crisis. Solving it would save hundreds of babies.