Help Pregnant Moms Give Birth Safely in Disasters

As the conflict in Syria escalates, families continue to be displaced by the thousands. There are currently over 400,000 people registered as refugees in neighboring countries, like Lebanon and Jordan. Most of these are women and children who have fled their homes to escape the violence. Some cities in Syria, like Aleppo and Homs, are completely devastated. Neighboring countries are also feeling the strain, with the influx of refugees exhausting the existing national health services.  

In the face of this crisis, pregnant women are at high risk. Women fleeing conflict may have to give birth on the run or in unsanitary settings – where can they find a qualified midwife or doctor to safely deliver their children in areas of mass devastation and violence?  Women in these battle-ravaged regions need support and care now more than ever. Please donate $11 or more to help ensure women in crisis areas have clean, healthy and safe deliveries.

Nisreen (pictured above) is a 30 year-old Syrian refugee who fled to Cyber City, Jordan, while pregnant. Leaving behind the violence and her home, Nisreen was greeted with a new world of uncertainty and a fear for her life and the life of her baby. She never dreamed she would have to give birth in a foreign land during a time of great conflict, little resources and much confusion.

Nisreen desperately needed to find health care to increase the chances of a healthy pregnancy. Skilled midwives are essential in regions like this – they ensure that women and their babies receive skilled care during pregnancy, childbirth, and in the important days and weeks following the birth. Unfortunately, turmoil makes it hard to find such caregivers. Thankfully, Nisreen found UNFPA’s midwife, Um Ahmad Ayyad, whom Nisreen describes as a “saving angle”. On October 1^st, Um Ahmad assisted Nisreen in the birth of her son, Mohammed. Nisreen faced unimaginable hardships while pregnant with her child, but with the help of UNFPA, the United Nation’s Population Fund, Nisreen received the care she needed to give birth to a healthy baby, despite the difficult circumstances surrounding her.

UNFPA is assisting in the provision of lifesaving reproductive health care services and psychosocial support in these cities. By setting up camps at border areas with Syria, training partners and medical staff, and providing medical assistance (including clean birthing kits), UNFPA is ensuring that the specific needs of women and girls are factored into humanitarian response to the region.

While UNFPA works to reach every woman in need, the Fund cannot do it alone – your help is essential. There are still refugees who are forced to give birth in unsanitary and dangerous conditions without the support of lifesaving care. Providing a clean delivery kit can increase their chances of survival and decrease maternal deaths. Through UNFPA and nongovernmental groups in the region, these emergency birthing kits are distributed to mothers, midwives and nurses. The kits consist of not only a bar of soap but also a clear plastic sheet, a razor blade to cut the umbilical cord and performing episiotomies, an umbilical cord tie, cloth and latex gloves. 

Please consider making an additional contribution– $25 provides a woman with hygiene essentials for six months, enabling her to maintain her dignity in disaster or emergency situations. Your gift will go a long way in ensuring that women who give life, do not have to risk their own.