Becoming a mother in Yemen: A fight for life with the help of Doctors Without Borders

Thousands of women come to the MSF maternity clinic during their pregnancies. As in most conflict-affected countries, the healthcare system in Yemen has collapsed. This makes women and children particularly vulnerable to health complications. In Mocha, one of the ways this manifests itself is the unavailability of services for pregnant women.

They are the only 24/7 maternity and pediatric departments in the entire west coast region, which covers just over half a million people.

MSF clinics in Yemen

In July 2024, MSF integrated maternity services into Mocha General Hospital. This has allowed them to expand the services they can provide, including by opening a new comprehensive obstetric and neonatal care unit. Today, the maternity ward has 28 beds for labor and delivery, including neonatal and intensive care beds. Before this move, MSF provided maternal care from the field hospital that was initially set up in Mocha in 2022.

The west coast of Yemen is a rural area with fronts to the north and east. Women with high-risk or complicated pregnancies sometimes travel a three-hour journey to reach the Mocha hospital. It is expected that 15% of births will have obstetric complications, which, if not treated promptly, could be fatal.

The risks and complications faced by women in the region are easily preventable, but without consistent and accessible prenatal and postnatal care, pregnancy becomes more dangerous. Health care facilities in the region are poorly equipped, untrained, and in short supply. As a result, women have no choice but to travel long distances over poor roads.

Challenges for mothers in Yemen

There are so many challenges for mothers in Yemen, most of them linked to the war that makes access to the few remaining health facilities very complicated. That is why the location of this maternity hospital is so critical, and it covers a large area of ​​the west coast.

The complications women face can be treated by the hospital and its staff if patients arrive in time. However, The Director of the clinic insists that there should be a first line of care closer to home. Considering the population of the west coast, about 1,300 women are expected to give birth each month.

Yemen: Why can’t mothers get to hospitals?

There are many factors that hinder a woman’s ability to reach a hospital on the West Coast: ongoing displacement due to conflict, numerous checkpoints along the roads, poor economic conditions, and the need to obtain formal consent from a male family member for any medical procedure, including a caesarean section. This leaves expectant mothers with little choice but to give birth in unsafe conditions, putting their lives and that of their baby at risk.

Behind the door, where non-medical male staff are not allowed, the maternity ward is a feminine world of dignity and solidarity that beats to the rhythm of midwives. Since the midwifery services were transferred to Mocha General Hospital, more than 1,600 women have given birth safely in their wards.

About the author

The Liberal Globe is an independent online magazine that provides carefully selected varieties of stories. Our authoritative insight opinions, analyses, researches are reflected in the sections which are both thematic and geographical. We do not attach ourselves to any political party. Our political agenda is liberal in the classical sense. We continue to advocate bold policies in favour of individual freedoms, even if that means we must oppose the will and the majority view, even if these positions that we express may be unpleasant and unbearable for the majority.

Comments

  1. With every little thing that appears to be building within this subject matter, a significant percentage of viewpoints are actually relatively refreshing. On the other hand, I am sorry, because I can not subscribe to your entire plan, all be it exciting none the less. It seems to everybody that your remarks are generally not completely rationalized and in reality you are generally your self not really fully certain of your argument. In any case I did enjoy looking at it.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *