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Ukraine, preterm births doubled and tripled in war

Stress is one of the most effective reliable predictors of preterm births: if women are exposed to two or more debilitating events during pregnancy, the risk of preterm birth doubles. It is not surprising, therefore, that doctors have found a sharp increase in the number of premature births in some areas of Ukrainenow that the conflict enters its second month.

He reported it to the BBC the staff of the Kharkiv and Lviv clinics: the rate of preterm births has doubled or even tripled in recent weeks. Iryna Kondratova, medical director of a clinic in Kharkiv explains: premature ones now account for 50% of all births.

Infections, lack of medical care, poor nutrition: war creates the risk of premature birth“, has explained. “Our premature birth rate was already high, because we had many patients from Donetsk and Luhansk. In conflict zones, women spend a long time in crowded basements, where infections are common. And it’s also more difficult for them to get medical help if they need it. ‘ But as the rate of premature births has risen, the total number of patients has shrunk as women flee fighting.

Olga Bogadiza has fled from Kiev to find a place sheltered from the bombs to give birth to her children: six months pregnant, she is expecting twins. “When I arrived in Lviv, the doctor said that I had lost 3.5 kilos, and that my children’s lives were in danger because their development had stopped.” Only now have her children started growing up again.

In Kharkiv, clinic staff made the decision to stay in the intensive care unit with the youngest children, despite air raid warnings. “You can’t take a 600-gram baby to the basement»Explained Dr. Kondratova. “It would be a one-way trip. So we stay with the children and we live the bombings with them ».

The Lviv hospital is also building a special underground bunker to house its most fragile babies in incubators: hospitals have already been a target in this war, and staff are worried.

Other stories of Vanity Fair that might interest you:

– War in Ukraine

– Ukraine, the horrors of war seen through the eyes of children

– Ukraine, “My father, an army volunteer, fights for women and children”

– Ukraine: night in the shelters in Kiev, Russian vehicles close to the city

– Ukraine, Danilo: “My home is here: I don’t want to leave”

– Ukraine, “We will spend the night in this bunker, in the cold”

– Attack on Ukraine, protests also in Russian cities

– Ukraine, the cry of civilians: “We are terrified”

– Ukraine, the attack started during the night

– Ukraine: “Awakened by the bombing, I threw up with fear”

– Ukraine, Natalia Onipko: «The world help us. We can’t do it alone “

Source: Vanity Fair

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