At the Kharkiv antenatal clinic, one of the largest in Ukraine, staff are concerned about the rising number of premature births due to the war.
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Posted on 2/21/2023 7:34 PM Updated on 2/21/2023 9:56 PM
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“It’s Demyd, he was less than a kilo when he was born.” In his incubator, the little boy breathes thanks to a tiny tube like himself. The baby of Katya, a 21-year-old Ukrainian girl, was born at the 7th month of pregnancy in the Kharkiv maternity hospital. “I was stressed because I have relatives who are at the front in the war: my husband’s brother,” says the young mother.
>> War in Ukraine: Follow our lives
One year after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Ukrainian women are also suffering from the consequences of the war during their pregnancy. Although there are no exact figures on the impact of the conflict on the birth rate at the national level, Ukrainian doctors are concerned about the rise in the number of premature babies and the complications that may arise. The fear of war was experienced by Irina, who held her seven-day-old boy tightly when she was three months pregnant: “Two rockets fell on my building. It was a very big shock and it took a toll on my health.”
Demyd was born after 7 months of pregnancy. The little boy is breathing through a tube. In Kharkiv, February 2023. (ERIC AUDRA / RADIO FRANCE)
“It’s always very difficult in the country and in the city”
On the third floor of the Kharkiv Maternity Hospital, nurses prepare medicines for women admitted to an intensive care unit. Quiet reigns, in contrast to the 78 days at the beginning of the war, when bombing raids on a neighboring military hospital necessitated a catastrophic move to the basement. “Conditions were much more complicated in the basement,” explains Victoria, head of the unit. We organized the space, everything was sterilized, but there was stress.” Victoria explains that the conditions “for the service” have almost returned to normal, but “in the country and in the city it is still very difficult”.
“Today we were all woken up at 4 a.m. because there were explosions. We didn’t fall asleep and then we went to work because you have to work. You have to smile and you have to win.”
Victoria, Head of Intensive Care
at franceinfo
Irina Kondratova, the director of the Kharkiv Prenatal Center, asks us a surprising question: “Do you know my story with David Beckham?” Irina scrolls through a video on her phone in which the former English soccer star says: “I put my social networks Irina , the director of the regional perinatal center in Kharkiv. Your donations help newborns survive in harsh conditions. terrible.”
Irina Kondratova, director of the Kharkiv Prenatal Center, in front of the new incubator bought with the donations raised by David Beckham. February 2023. (ERIC AUDRA / RADIO FRANCE)
Since then, the Kharkiv Prenatal Clinic has been equipped with a brand new incubator, which was bought thanks to the ex-footballer’s donations.
In Kharkiv, Ukrainian women suffer the consequences of war during their pregnancy – Valérie Crova and Eric Audra
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