8 moms, all 8 months pregnant after Hurricane Matthew, celebrate their storm 'miracles'

— -- These eight moms are all celebrating their little “miracles” that came out of destruction.

They each got pregnant around the time of Hurricane Matthew, which hit South Carolina’s Lowcountry region last October. Residents either evacuated or sheltered in place while trees, homes and property were destroyed.

Cassie Clayshulte, the official newborn photographer for Coastal Carolina Hospital in Hardeeville, said she knew there would be a surge of pregnancies after the storm.

“About nine months from a big storm or a big power outage, even nine months from Valentine’s Day or the holidays, I’ll always see a surge in births at the hospital. We were all sequestered in places with no power or evacuated for a week or longer and so I thought I might have a surge in business,” Clayshulte told ABC News. “I got this vision of all these moms lined up celebrating these little miracles that may not have happened if it weren’t for the hurricane.”

She posted the idea for the creative photo shoot on her Facebook page, explaining she was “looking for moms who made babies during the hurricane and are willing to talk about it.”

“I wanted to show everyone that the storm gave some Bluffton, Beaufort, and Hilton Head couples a special miracle,” said Clayshulte. “If it weren’t for Matthew, these eight couples wouldn’t be expecting these little miracles. Some of these couples had trouble conceiving, experienced difficult previous pregnancies, and even had to undergo several rounds of fertility treatments to become pregnant. This storm destroyed trees and property and our area’s tourism industry took a big hit, but the storm helped these couples create something even more beautiful and these stunning mommies-to-be are living proof.”

One of the moms, Lindsey Gullett, said the military forced her to evacuate her Beaufort home.

“We chose to go to Chattanooga, Tennessee, for six nights,” she said. “Our apartment complex was completely under water.”

Another mom, Molly Spears of Bluffton said her family was very fortunate to not have any damage to their home.

“We lost power for about 72 hours and the worst to come of that was I lost my entire freezer stash of breast milk,” said Spears. “We evacuated to Cashiers, North Carolina, and stayed at my sister-in-law’s mountain cabin for the week.

“We decided to go ahead and try for another great kid. I call our first Hurricane Porter, so it will be interesting to see if little sister is just as wild, especially since she was conceived during an actual hurricane!” she quipped.

These moms are thrilled for their new bundles of joy whom they refer to as their “little miracles.”

“I feel babies always come at a time when they are most needed,” said mom Danielle Lewis of Bluffton. “When he is born, I feel he will fill a hole in our lives we didn't even know was missing. I'm so eager and excited to meet him.”