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Breathing gear sent to tackle Ukraine premature baby spike

Breathing aid

An undated handout image of the Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) breathing aid.

Photo credit: AFP

What you need to know:

  • Premature babies are those born at least three weeks before a full 40-week pregnancy.
  • The premature baby rate has gone up from 12 percent to 40 percent since Russia invaded Ukraine.
  • Bubble CPAP is a non-invasive way of ventilating newborns who are struggling to breathe.

War has caused an apparent rise in premature births in Ukraine, international health agency Unitaid said Tuesday, as it announced oxygen equipment deliveries to health centres in the country to help them cope.

Russia's February invasion "increases levels of stress in pregnant women, which leads to an increase in the number of premature births reported", Unitaid spokesman Herve Verhoosel told reporters in Geneva.