MSF’s Maternity in Domiz Camp, Iraq, Continues to Grow

 

Just a few weeks after opening on August 4, MSF’s maternity unit in Domiz refugee camp, in northern Iraqi Kurdistan, is crowded with Syrian women, many of them pregnant or holding babies. All have chosen to take advantage of a range of maternity services, from antenatal check-ups to postnatal vaccinations, provided by staff who are themselves refugees.

As more refugees arrive from Syria—around 60,000 according to unofficial numbers—and as many get married and give birth, the need for a dedicated maternity unit is clear. An estimated one in five of the camp’s residents is a woman of reproductive age, and an estimated 2,100 babies are born in the camp each year.

“Our clinic used to provide basic reproductive care services, but women had to go all the way into town to deliver in a very crowded hospital,” says MSF’s Dr. Adrian Guadarrama. “But with the new maternity unit up and running, now we only need to refer high-risk pregnancies to Dohuk, taking much pressure off the hospital.”

To learn more about the impact of the war in Syria on civilians, go to http://reachofwar.msf.org/

Midwives filling the parthograph in order to monitor the delivery of the first baby in the new maternity run by MSF in Domeez refugee camp.
Gabrielle Klein/MSF
Marguerite Sheriff Midwife expatriate guiding and giving advices to her staff for the first delivery.
Gabrielle Klein/MSF
Ayla Hamdo, 3.200 kg and 62 Cm born the 04.08.2014, is the first baby of the new maternity run by MSF in Domeez refugee camp. Ayla’s first cares after the delivery .
Gabrielle Klein/MSF
Ayla Hamdo, 3.200 kg and 62 Cm born the 04.08.2014, is the first baby of the new maternity run by MSF in Domeez refugee camp. Ayla’s first cares after the delivery .
Gabrielle Klein/MSF
Ayla Hamdo, 3.200 kg and 62 Cm born the 04.08.2014, is the first baby of the new maternity run by MSF in Domeez refugee camp. Ayla in the arms of mother’s relatives while mother finishes post-delivery cares.
Gabrielle Klein/MSF
Ayla Hamdo, 3.200 kg and 62 Cm born the 04.08.2014, is the first baby of the new maternity run by MSF in Domeez refugee camp. MSF team congratulating the mother and giving a gift for Ayla’s birth
Gabrielle Klein/MSF
Marguerite Sheriff (midwife expatriate) posing with mother and baby, first beneficiaries of MSF new maternity in Domeez refugee Camp.
Gabrielle Klein/MSF