Published 8 April 2022
For the past few weeks we have been working with partners in the UK and Ukraine to send our out-of-hospital birth bags and other vital equipment to Ukraine.
Last night one of our out-of-hospital birth bags was used as new mum, Anna, gave birth to her baby at the Isida clinic in Kyiv.
Anna’s baby was delivered by staff at the Isida clinic using equipment from the Baby Lifeline out-of-hospital birth bag. Images used by kind permission of the Isida Clinic and Anna.
Head of Obstetrics at the Isida clinic, Oksana Tkachenko, told us that the team were “amazed and delighted” with the bag. Obstetrician Vladimir Bannikov, who attended to Anna while she was in labour, said that the bag “includes high-quality materials, tools and everything you need that may be useful in childbirth outside a specialized hospital. I express my sincere gratitude to the creators!”
Baby Lifeline out-of-hospital birth bag in use at the Isida clinic in western Kyiv
The equipment arrived at the Isida clinic in western Kyiv on 1st April 2022. The clinic has been forced underground due to the war. From there, bags and equipment have been distributed to maternity units and hospitals in Sumy and Chernigov; the bags will soon be delivered to Bucha, Vorzel, Kharkiv and Irpin.
Oksana told us that there is “urgent need” for the bags in wartime Ukraine:
“We can only imagine how essential and appreciated this equipment will be at the frontline hospitals in Sumy, Kharkiv, Chernigiv, Luhansk region and Donetsk region. Baby Lifeline have done a remarkable job!”
We are currently fundraising to send more bags and more equipment including a fetal monitor, anaesthetic machines and inflatable incubators to Ukraine. You can find more information, and help us to help those that need it most, via our donation page.
Thank you letters from staff at the Isida clinic in Kyiv, who received equipment sent by Baby Lifeline and have organized for its redistribution around Ukraine.