UNICEF Estimates 400,000 Babies Will Be Born On New Year’s Day

NPR Pakistan HNN Team

This article was originally published by NPR  The baby girl cooing in a hospital in the Pakistani capital was long awaited. Her mother, Ambreen Saddam, 28, had been trying to conceive for four years. She gave birth at 9 a.m., Islamabad time, Jan. 1, 2020. That date made the birth even sweeter, says Saddam. “It’s … Continued

Maternal, newborn health at risk in KP’s Shangla due to unregistered clinics, unqualified medics

DAWN Pakistan HNN Team

This article was originally posted on DAWN In November, Attaur Rehman’s 34-year-old sister, who was a mother of six, went into labour. In an effort to get her immediate medical attention, her husband rushed her to a basic health unit where a lady health visitor (LHV) was assigned the case. Recounting his sister’s ordeal, Rehman … Continued

Saudi Arabia delivers ‘early warning’ on preterm births

Arab Times HNN Team

This story was originally published by Arab News JEDDAH: Up to 60,000 babies are born prematurely every year in Saudi Arabia with hospitals in the Kingdom spending up to SR60,000 ($16,000) on individual treatment and specialized care, a leading pediatrician told Arab News. Dr. Sawsan Hussein Daffa, consultant neonatologist and head of pediatrics department at the Aya … Continued

WHO support to paediatric and neonatal semi-intensive care units in Raparin Paediatric Hospital in Erbil

World Health Organization (WHO) Iraq HNN Team

This article was originally published by WHO here. The World Health Organization (WHO), in partnership with the Ministry of Health in Kurdistan Region of Iraq, today celebrated the opening of the paediatric intensive care and neonatal gastroenterology and semi-intensive care unit in Raparin Pediatric Hospital in Erbil. The paediatric intensive and semi-intensive care units, with … Continued

One woman and six newborns die every two hours from complications during pregnancy or childbirth in Yemen

UNICEF Yemen HNN Team

This article was originally published on the UNICEF website here. One woman and six newborns die every two hours in Yemen from complications during pregnancy or childbirth, UNICEF said in the first of a series of short snapshots on maternal and newborn health in Yemen. “Bringing life into the world in Yemen can all too … Continued

In world’s worst humanitarian crisis, the miracle of a safe birth

UNFPA Yemen HNN Team

JARDAN, Yemen – Over a million pregnant women and new mothers require urgent aid in Yemen, the site of the world’s worst humanitarian crisis. Mohsina was one of these women when she went into labour at the end of a complicated and painful pregnancy. Luckily, her story had a happy – and surprise – ending. … Continued

Unnecessary referrals from districts causing death of newborns

Dawn Pakistan HNN Team

PESHAWAR: Unnecessary referral of newborns from district hospitals coupled with shortage of equipment and trained staff in Peshawar-based teaching hospitals have been causing deaths of preventable ailments, according to sources. Paediatricians say that 16 per cent of the neonates die at nursery ward of Khyber Teaching Hospital (KTH), 30 per cent at Lady Reading Hospital … Continued

‘No woman has died here while having a baby and that is a big achievement’

Irish Times HNN Team

Baby Matin is less than five hours old when we meet. Matin’s mother Maran gingerly lifts her baby, swaddled in bundles of soft blankets, from the cot to show her to the group of well-wishers gathered by the end of the bed. The 27-year-old already has three sons – two were born in the sprawling … Continued

‘I’ve Lost My Baby, My Home And My Life’: The perils of being pregnant in war-torn Yemen

ELLE UK Yemen HNN Team

Um Walid is lying in a hospital bed in Sana’a, the capital of Yemen. The blanket keeping her warm is a deep red; the room is cast in a warm pinky-purple hue. She is sick, and struggling to search for the words to describe the loss of her unborn child just 21 days ago. ‘I … Continued

Looming famine threatens the lives of 2 million pregnant women and new mothers in Yemen

UNFPA Yemen HNN Team

SANA’A, Yemen – Four years into conflict, Yemen has become home to the worst humanitarian crisis in the world. Over 22 million people are in need of immediate humanitarian assistance. Two thirds of the population do not know when their next meal will come. “Some days I cannot provide food [for my children],” said 28-year-old … Continued