1 In 8 Babies Was Born In A Conflict Zone This Year: UN

After more than four years of civil war in Syria, for example, an estimated 64 percent of public hospitals have been damaged, destroyed or shut down, according to Save the Children. That leaves expecting moms with few, if any options, for a safe delivery.

Dr. S., a physician in Syria who declined to reveal his name due to security concerns, faced his most compromising medical situation when he performed his first-ever C-section while under fire. 

With support from Doctors Without Borders, the physician set up a clinic in a bombed out school located to the east of Damascus in 2012. The following year, a patient in need of a C-section arrived, and the medical crew tried to no avail to transport her to a maternity hospital as the shelling rained down outside, Dr. S. wrote in a blog post for Doctors Without Borders.

Faced with no alternative, a few days before the delivery date, Dr. S. researched online how to perform a C-section and successfully performed the procedure.

“The clock was ticking and my fear and stress started to peak,” he wrote. “I wished I could stop time, but the woman’s labor started.”

While Dr. S.’s patient was one of the fortunate ones, entire health systems and long-term health goals are getting devastated in these areas.