RALEIGH, N.C. — COVID-19 has led to a high demand for midwives across the nation as more expectant mothers are opting to swap the hospital for an at-home birth.

This has led to an uptick in sales for Precious Arrows, a midwifery supply store in Raleigh. At the onset of the pandemic, the store’s owner, Kelly O’Briant, had to actually turn off the phone because she was getting so many calls.

“I sent an email to everybody saying, 'I'm sorry, I just can't keep answering the phones,' ” O’Briant says.

She then had to start working 12- to 15-hour days, seven days a week, to keep up with the demand.

“It was midwives wanting to make sure they had what they needed in case things ran out, and also their clients and our customers who are pregnant and wanting to make sure they had their birth kit when they needed to have it. We would have people ordering a birth kit when they were barely three months pregnant because they were so afraid,” O’Briant says.

The store’s warehouse is home to everything needed for a home birth, but supply is low. The increase in customers led to a short supply of necessities like gloves, thermometers, and hydrogen peroxide.

“We started getting allocations, so instead of getting 10 cases of gloves of one type or one size, now we're down to two,” O’Briant says.

O’Briant feels grateful for the amount of business but is just happy things have calmed down a bit since March so her customers can have everything they need for their special day.