Pregnant Woman and Her Baby Die After Enduring Russia’s Attacks on a Maternity Hospital

Five days after Russia called for an air attack on an active maternity hospital in Mariupol, reports are revealing the pregnant woman and her baby, seen in poignant war photos, have died. 

According to the Associated Press, though the pregnant woman’s identity has not been made public, the image of her being rushed from the rubble will forever be remembered by those who saw it. According to the AP, the woman is seen being carried on a stretcher.

Pregnant Woman and Her Baby Die After Enduring Russia’s Attacks on a Maternity Hospital

The AP journalists who shot the video and took the pictures, remember her stroking her baby bump that was covered in blood. Reports revealed that as doctors worked tirelessly to save her and her child, the woman screamed out, “Kill me now,” as she began to realize she was losing her baby.

According to WCVB, Surgeon Timur Marin revealed that the woman came in with a crushed pelvis and a detached hip. The baby was delivered via cesarean section, but upon being brought into the world, showed “no signs of life,” the surgeon continued.

“More than 30 minutes of resuscitation of the mother didn’t produce results,” Marin said Saturday. “Both died.”

The woman’s husband and father quickly retrieved their bodies and the hospital never learned of her name. Reports suggest the medical professionals are glad her body was retrieved. 

As Mamas Uncut reports, other images that have become widely popular during the war in Ukraine revealed an expectant mom dressed in a polka dot jumper fleeing from the wreckage. It was reported that just one day later, Mariana Vishegirskaya welcomed a baby girl named Veronika into the world.

Thankfully, both Vishegirskaya and her daughter are in good health. Now, while talking to the AP, Vishegirskaya is opening up about what she experienced at the time of the blast.

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“It happened on March 9 in Hospital No. 3 in Mariupol. We were laying inwards when glasses, frames, windows, and walls flew apart,” Vishegirskaya told The AP. “We don’t know how it happened. We were in our wards and some had time to cover themselves, some didn’t.”

As Mamas Uncut previously reported, during the early morning hours of March 9, reports stated that Russian forces bombed a maternity hospital in Mariupol after agreeing to a 12-hour ceasefire that would allow refugees to evacuate from the towns and cities that have been seeing the worst of the war.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky called the attack on the hospital a “direct strike” and an “atrocity,” in a statement. He then repeated his pleas to NATO calling for the military alliance to declare a no-fly zone over Ukraine.

“How much longer will the world be an accomplice ignoring terror?” Zelensky wrote. “Close the sky right now! Stop the killings! You have power but you seem to be losing humanity.”