Maksym and Denys arrived early—far too early. Tiny and vulnerable, the twin brothers wouldn’t have had much hope in many other cities across Ukraine’s front line.
Fortunately, they were delivered at a UNFPA maternity hospital in Sumy, a city located in northeastern Ukraine. The skilled doctors, nurses, and midwives on staff jumped into action, providing lifesaving care before placing the boys in incubators also provided by UNFPA.
Anastasia, a new mother whose son was also born prematurely, recalled his first hours as harrowing. “I was very frightened because I did not know what would happen to my son. Everything was explained to us so calmly and clearly.” The staff, she said, walked her through every step of the way.
What the war has done to maternity care
Scenes like those above are becoming the norm across Ukraine. As the war nears its fifth year, giving birth has grown more dangerous. The strain falls hardest on the regions closest to the fighting.
Premature births have climbed to about twice the national average. More mothers are dying or facing life-threatening complications, with maternal deaths rising 37% between 2023 and 2024. And UNFPA, the United Nations sexual and reproductive health agency, has found that 1 in 5 maternity facilities can no longer meet basic standards of care.
Behind the figures is a toll on the buildings themselves. More than 80 maternity and newborn facilities have been damaged or destroyed, with strikes hitting hospitals in cities like Kherson and Odesa—part of what appears to be a broader pattern of attacks on healthcare across the country. Each strike forces staff to move patients, relocate deliveries underground, and keep care going in conditions few health systems anywhere could withstand for this long.
There is a quieter strain too: a shortage of medical staff. As the danger drags on, the pressure has worn people down—many have written resignation letters, only to withdraw them hours later, caught between the toll of the work and an unwillingness to leave their patients.
The few wards that remain open depend on the people who stay. Equipment alone isn’t enough; as the staff there describe it, a ward only works if there are people to run it.
UNFPA continues to deliver care, long after the cameras leave
UNFPA continues to provide lifesaving supplies and care in Ukraine. We deliver medical supplies and equipment to healthcare facilities under pressure. In the first half of 2026, we supported 233 health facilities across Ukraine and sent newborn medicines to 25 perinatal centers—along with mobile incubators and newborn resuscitation equipment that kept Maksym and Denys alive.
We have built fortified underground maternity wards where women can give birth safely, even during air raids, with more being added in frontline regions. And we support the midwives, doctors, nurses, and drivers who keep these wards running—often the same people who live in the communities they serve.
We’re there to ensure premature newborns are cared for until they’re strong enough to leave the incubator and go home; to ensure the stories of mothers like Anastasia end in relief instead of tragedy.
Keep the care going for mothers and babies in Ukraine
Behind every safe birth in a warzone is a chain of people and supplies that holds it together—the incubator ready for a baby born too soon, the midwife on a shift through the night, and the care that continues long after the cameras are gone.
Your support can help reach the maternity wards, newborn care centers, and hospitals still open on the front line in Ukraine and other crisis areas. If you’d like to be a part of that, donate here to support mothers and newborns like Maksym, Denys, and Anastasia today.