Three times more deaths than births in Ukraine

Not far from the maternity ward of a hospital in Pokrovsk, the bombings become more intense, but the doctors are determined to stay as long as they can.

– We had ten attacks last night. Can you believe it? says doctor Ivan Tsyhanok to the AFP news agency.

The bombs are dropped closer and closer to the city, which is two miles from the front line. Russia is trying to take control of a nearby highway. It goes to Kramatorsk, the largest city in the Donetsk region still under Ukrainian control.

The fighting means that women in the area have to take long detours when they give birth to avoid roads that are often attacked, says Tsyhanok.

War stress

Even before the Russian invasion in February 2022, Ukraine faced a demographic crisis. Birth rates in the country were among the lowest in the world, and in recent years they have fallen further, first because of the pandemic, then because of the war.

The fact that fewer and fewer women are giving birth in Ukraine can be explained by the fact that many couples have split up and that many young women have fled the country.

In addition, many women give birth prematurely as a result of the war. According to Tsyhanok, the number of premature births has doubled in Donetsk since Russia began its full-scale invasion almost two and a half years ago.

One reason for this may be increased stress. Many of the women carry a great deal of concern for the children’s fathers, who are often soldiers, and for the children’s future in the war-torn country.

The doctors refuse to go

During the first six months of the year, the number of deaths in Ukraine has been almost three times higher than the number of births, The Kyiv Independent newspaper reports, citing Ukrainian statistics.

During the first half of 2024, 87,000 children were born in Ukraine while 250,000 people died. The figures are not completely complete, as the Russian occupation of parts of the country makes it difficult to collect information on births and deaths there.

Already two years ago, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy urged the residents of Donetsk to flee, and in some areas close to the front, Ukrainian authorities have forced them to flee. However, the doctors have decided to stay.

– We understand the risk, but as long as there are patients here, we cannot stop our work, says Tsyhanok.