Ukraine's neonatologist Dr Myroshnychenko describes the plight faced by families of premature babies in Donetsk, in words and pictures
Veronika, a baby born prematurely at 29 weeks, is checked at the Pokrovsk Perinatal Hospital, the only one under government control equipped to take care of premature babies, in Pokrovsk, Donetsk in eastern Ukraine, August 15, 2022.
Before Russia’s attacks on Ukraine in late February, three hospitals in government-controlled areas of the country’s war-torn Donetsk region had facilities to care for premature babies. One was hit by a Russian air strike and the other had to close as a result of the fighting ‒ leaving only the maternity hospital in the coal mining town of Pokrovsk still operating.
Hospital officials say the proportion of births occurring prematurely or with complications has roughly doubled this year compared to previous times, blaming stress and rapidly worsening living standards for taking a toll on the pregnant women still left in the area. Although fighting in the Dontesk region started back in 2014, when Russia-backed separatists began battling the government and taking over parts of the region, new mothers are only now being kept in the hospital for longer periods because there's little opportunity for them to receive care once they have been discharged.
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