Pregnancy and childbirth

Fieldset

Around the world, hundreds of women die every day from complications in pregnancy and childbirth. Almost all of these deaths are in developing countries, and most would be preventable with appropriate medical care.

Médecins Sans Frontières / Doctors Without Borders (MSF) is helping to save lives and improve maternal health by giving women a safe place to give birth: maternity units that have high levels of infection control and specialist staff.

Many MSF projects also provide information about planning pregnancies and access to contraceptives to women who want them.

Sabrina Das

Obstetrician / Gynaecologist

Insha’allah: How I find hope on a maternity ward in Yemen

Obstetrician Sabrina shares the heartbreak and hope experienced by mothers and staff on a maternity ward in the city of Taiz, Yemen

07 Jun 2021 / 7 minute read

Wafaa Sharif

Midwife

Both sweet and bitter moments: My time as a midwife in a pandemic

MSF midwife Wafaa Sharif looks back on the professional and personal challenges her maternity team have faced due to COVID-19

23 Apr 2021 / 5 minute read

Tamara Molina Montalvo

Midwife

“We had no idea what was coming”: My time on a maternity ward in Yemen

After an intense assignment on a maternity ward in Yemen, MSF midwife Tamara reflects on the meaningful and sometimes complex moments faced by the team at Abs Hospital

22 Mar 2021 / 6 minute read

Nana Bündgen

Obstetrician / Gynaecologist

Those life-saving moments: Obstetrics in Afghanistan

MSF gynaecologist Nana Bündgen shares her experiences from a busy maternity hospital in Lashkar Gah, Afghanistan, and an assignment marked by insecurity and patients she can't forget

02 Mar 2021 / 7 minute read

Tamara Molina Montalvo

Midwife

"It's like working with your eyes closed": Delivering babies in Yemen's civil war

Years of brutal civil war have pushed Yemen's healthcare system to collapse. From a maternity ward in the battle-scarred city of Abs, MSF midwife Tamara takes us through the challenges of welcoming new life into this unstable world.

08 Feb 2021 / 4 minute read

Kirsti Rinne

Midwife

Surprise twins: How working for MSF makes me feel connected to humanity

After a non-stop night on a maternity ward in Cameroon, US midwife Kirsti reflects on the unique moments she shares with her patients

24 Apr 2020 / 7 minute read

Kirsti Rinne

Midwife

“Some things are not OK”: Struggle and strength on a maternity ward

When the odds of survival are against two premature baby girls born in Cameroon, US midwife Kirsti finds that amidst suffering and loss there is still hope

23 Apr 2020 / 6 minute read

Tom Niccol

Doctor

"This is why we are here": The race to save a life in South Sudan

In remote Old Fangak, a woman is in desperate need of medical treatment. But with no surgical facilities and a runway too muddy to land a plane, time is running out...

21 Nov 2019 / 8 minute read

A mother with her newborn baby in the maternity ward in Leer, South Sudan

Daniel Campbell and Luise Jaehne

“Maternity! Now!”

Logistician Dan is a trained first responder, but when he asks midwife Luise to teach him a few new skills, he's plunged into a life-threatening emergency where both a mother and baby face slim odds of survival. Told from two different perspectives, this story takes us inside the team at a maternity ward at Leer, South Sudan...

05 Nov 2019 / 14 minute read