Ongoing conflict and instability continue to severely disrupt life in north-west Syria, straining medical supply stocks and overwhelming the capacity of healthcare workers. Pregnant women with obstetric complications are among those most at risk. 

"Many women in north-west Syria lose their lives while being transferred between hospitals in the absence of essential supplies for critical conditions like placental abruption," Dr. Ikram Haboush, the director of the Specialized Maternity Hospital in Idlib, Syria, told UNFPA, the UN sexual and reproductive health agency.

Placental abruption is a life-threatening condition in which the placenta separates from the uterine wall; it can result in maternal and fetal death. 

Khansa Harbeh, 35, was diagnosed with the condition when she was in her second trimester of pregnancy. “I was terrified and desperately searched for a well-trained doctor who could handle my case,” she told UNFPA.