"As the world watches Russia continue its unprovoked and brutal attack on Ukraine, no image has conveyed the horror of war as much as photos of the Russian bombing of a maternity hospital in Mariupol," Jill Filipovic, a journalist, wrote in a CNN article . New York lawyer and author of "OK Boomer, Let's Talk: How My Generation Got Left Behind."
Jill mentions shocking photos of pregnant women facing war: a pregnant woman with a bloodied face, another lying on a stretcher (who later passed away with the baby).
"War is hell for anyone who experiences it - regardless of age, gender, race or nationality. "But women, and especially women of childbearing age, often experience war differently than men." - she writes.
Jill points out that women “face special risks - for example, rape. They have special responsibilities: Men are more likely to risk their lives to fight; "Women are more likely to be left behind, trying to secure children and, if they survive, trying to rebuild a ruined world."
Among other things, she points out that "pregnancy and childbirth endanger women's lives." "We know that armed conflict increases the mortality rate of mothers - when a country is at war, it is no wonder that pregnant women do not they can get health care, "Filipovic writes.
"Pregnant women in war zones are also, like everyone else, extremely stressed - but this level of stress can have deadly consequences for the mother or baby. "Pregnant women, and especially those who have problems, simply can not escape when violence begins."
In addition, armed conflicts increase maternal mortality even after the end of the war: as a result of rape, problematic pregnancies due to post-traumatic stress, chronic diseases due to war stressors, violence by war-traumatized partners, and so on.
