War's Human Toll: Premature Births
Ukraine Conflict Fuels Rise in Premature Births, Threatening Demographic Stability
Anonymous
War is reshaping the most basic act of life in Ukraine: giving birth. In the southern region of Kherson, the preterm birth rate nearly doubled from 5.4% in 2019 to 9.8% in 2025, according to The Hour. Doctors say the constant stress of drone strikes, displacement, and destroyed hospitals is pushing more babies into the world too soon.
The crisis is compounding an already dire situation. Ukraine's fertility rate has dropped to roughly one child per woman over the past three years, according to NH Register. Experts warn the country may be losing its demographic future alongside its land.
Stress, Shelling, and Early Labor Near the Front
The reasons behind premature births are rarely simple. But war adds a powerful trigger. Chronic stress floods a pregnant woman's body with cortisol, a hormone that can cause early labor. Dr. Maryna Shpylka, a neonatologist, wrote in a 2025 Lancet commentary that "the placental barrier is compromised by sustained high levels of cortisol in mothers who are living under constant threat of drone strikes."
Kherson sits near the front lines and has been under repeated shelling. Cases of gestational hypertension — dangerously high blood pressure during pregnancy — rose 40% in frontline districts. Millions of women were also displaced during the war, causing them to miss key prenatal checkups and lose their medical records, according to WRAL.
Keeping Fragile Newborns Alive With Generators and Grit
Premature babies need incubators and intensive care to survive. But Russian strikes have damaged or destroyed more than 1,600 medical facilities since February 2022. During the winters of 2024 and 2025, power grid attacks forced hospitals to run incubators on diesel generators — expensive, unreliable, and dangerous for the tiniest patients.
The World Bank estimates it would cost $2.5 billion to fully rebuild Ukraine's maternity and neonatal network. For now, doctors and nurses are working under fire, often without enough staff. Ukrainian opposition leaders have criticized the government for allowing male obstetricians to be conscripted, further shrinking the medical workforce, according to NH Register.
A Generation Born Early Faces Lifelong Challenges
Babies born too soon face higher risks of cerebral palsy, vision loss, and learning delays. A generation born during the war could need decades of specialized care. That puts a long-term burden on a country already stretched thin by military spending and economic loss, according to Yahoo News.
Rehabilitation centers for premature infants are currently underfunded, raising fears of higher death rates among children aged one to five in the years ahead. Ukraine is fighting on a second, quieter front — one measured not in territory gained, but in lives that barely begin.
Ukraine's Fertility Rate Hits a Historic Low
The preterm birth crisis sits inside an even larger collapse. Ukraine's fertility rate has fallen to roughly 1.0 child per woman — the lowest in its recorded history. The United Nations Population Fund has warned of a "generational demographic abyss." Analysts say the workforce could shrink by 30% by 2040, making postwar rebuilding nearly impossible without large-scale immigration.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy recently signed legislation offering financial incentives for families, calling the birth rate a matter of "national survival." In June 2026, the government launched a new initiative to fund neonatal intensive care units across the country. But with the war still ongoing, doctors say the hardest work lies ahead, according to NH Register.
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