New York, 10th December 2025 — In the last week, a maternity hospital in Kherson supported by UNFPA was damaged in an attack – the latest strike on a facility caring for pregnant women and newborns in Ukraine. The incident comes amid alarming new UNFPA data showing a sharp rise in the risk of dying in pregnancy or childbirth in Ukraine. Analysis of national health data indicates that the maternal mortality rate has risen by approximately 37 per cent*, as repeated strikes on hospitals and the breakdown of essential services force women to give birth in increasingly dangerous conditions.
Since Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022, more than 80 maternity and neonatal facilities have been damaged or destroyed, among the 2,763 healthcare sites hit nationwide. Health workers warn that the combination of violence, chronic stress, displacement and widespread disruption of maternity care is driving a surge in pregnancy complications and preventable deaths. Between 2023 and 2024, maternal mortality climbed from 18.9 to 25.9 deaths per 100,000 live births, underscoring a significant deterioration in the safety of pregnancy and childbirth.
“Our latest analysis shows a sharp deterioration in maternal health across Ukraine, with more women at risk of dying and more pregnancies ending in life-threatening complications,” said Florence Bauer, UNFPA's Regional Director for Eastern Europe and Central Asia. “These are not abstract statistics – they are people and families living under unbearable stress and reflect a health system under attack. Safe childbirth must be protected even in war, and international humanitarian law is clear: health facilities, health workers and humanitarian access must never be targeted.”
Kherson City Perinatal Center**, the facility struck by artillery fire this week, lies just 1.5 km from active front lines and remains under constant threat from artillery and drone attacks. During the 4 December strike, staff and patients sheltered in the bunkerised maternity unit constructed with UNFPA’s support. All personnel and patients were unharmed, and a baby girl was safely delivered during the attack.
UNFPA’s analysis of data from 2023 to 2024 indicates a disturbing pattern across the country: despite fewer births, a higher proportion of pregnancies are now affected by severe medical complications, including:
- Uterine ruptures, one of the most life-threatening obstetric emergencies, increased by more than 44%.
- Hypertensive disorders of pregnancy increased by over 12%.
- Severe bleeding after delivery rose by almost 9%.
Caesarean sections – a marker of strained maternity care in humanitarian crises – also remain high, with frontline regions showing some of the highest rates in Europe with Kherson at 46%; Odesa at 32%; Zaporizhzhia at 32%; and Kharkiv at 32%. These figures far exceed the World Health Organization’s recommended 10–15%. Overall reduction and delays in routine antenatal care, in addition to trauma and war-related complications and the need to time deliveries during short “pockets of safety” due to security risks, are all contributing to increased reliance on surgical delivery.
UNFPA sustaining maternity care under fire
With power cuts, stock-outs and damaged equipment now routine, humanitarian supplies are often the only lifeline keeping women and premature newborns alive. UNFPA provides mobile incubators, sterile neonatal equipment and life-saving medicines to help premature babies breathe. To ensure women can give birth safely even during bombardment, UNFPA also supports the construction and refurbishment of underground maternity wards. UNFPA supported the recently attacked Kherson maternity hospital with the full bunkerisation of its maternity ward, as well as a mobile medical unit offering gynecological care, family planning consultations and gender-based violence prevention services. A similar facility is operational in Sumy, with two more underway in Kharkiv, with support from the Government of Ireland.
UNFPA calls for US $52 million to keep maternal health and protection services functioning across Ukraine in 2026, including the provision of essential medicines, equipment, trained personnel and safe facilities for women to deliver and newborns to survive. Strengthening these services is vital to ensuring that every woman, even in areas facing bombardment or displacement, can give birth in safety and dignity and that their newborns are taken care of in the best way possible.
For more information, please contact:
New York - Zina Alam, zialam@unfpa.org; media@unfpa.org
Ukraine - Isaac Hurskin, hurskin@unfpa.org
*An earlier version of this press release described the 37 per cent rise in maternal mortality as occurring “in the past year.” This has been corrected to clarify that the increase refers to the change between 2023 and 2024, the most recent full year of national data available.
**This press release previously referred to the hospital that was attacked as Kherson City Clinical Hospital. It has been corrected to Kherson City Perinatal Center.
