Preterm birth rates rise in parts of Ukraine near front lines
Data from three regions show preterm birth rates increased between 2019 and 2025. Hospitals in Zaporizhzhia continue neonatal care during air-raid alerts while mothers manage infant health needs alone.
thenation.comPreterm birth rates have increased in several Ukrainian regions since Russia's 2022 invasion. Zaporizhzhia recorded an increase from 5.7 percent to 7.6 percent, and Poltava from 7.7 percent to 9.8 percent over the same period.
Maternal stress and medical complications Medical staff link the rise to prolonged stress and disrupted access to care. A professor of international maternal healthcare at the University of Liverpool said infection risk rises when diagnosis and treatment are delayed.
The spokesperson for the U.N. Population Fund stated that emergency cesarean sections and other pregnancy complications are also increasing. Hospitals in Zaporizhzhia board windows to prevent glass breakage from nearby strikes. When air-raid sirens sound, staff remain with infants rather than moving them, citing greater risk from transport.
One neonatal unit head described performing two cesarean sections and treating a miscarriage on the same day a glide bomb struck a commercial area.
Daily conditions for families Mothers often manage care alone while partners serve in the military. One resident of Zaporizhzhia described praying during her son's 26-week delivery; the infant, now nine months old, requires ongoing respiratory support.
Another mother left the hospital with her daughter after five months of intensive care only to return the next day after a viral infection. Ukraine's overall fertility rate has fallen to roughly one child per woman. Long-term medical needs for premature infants add costs for a health system operating under wartime constraints.
