Updated Statement on the Bombing of a Save the Children-Supported Maternity Hospital in Syria

July 30, 2016….Save the Children has been working with their partner in the region around the clock to keep the bombed maternity hospital in Idlib open. It’s currently operating at a reduced level and only able to support emergency cases and non-surgical deliveries. C-section deliveries cannot be performed as some of the theatre equipment and generators were damaged in the attacks. Repair work is underway.

Medical staff have told us that the hospital’s ambulance was damaged during the bombings, but the staff have borrowed one from a nearby facility to transfer women who need caesarean sections or who are having complicated deliveries to other emergency facilities in surrounding areas.  Most of the hospital furniture has been damaged in the attacks, along with three incubators and other critical equipment.

Patricia Erb, President and CEO of Save the Children says, “We are so grateful for the resilience and resourcefulness of the hospital staff in Idlib, in such tremendously difficult circumstances. They are working around the clock to make sure the hospital continues to support women and children in their hour of need. All labour and incubator rooms have been moved to the underground floors for safety and staff have borrowed a generator and an ambulance from other facilities to help them remain operational. The outpatient department has been closed until further notice, but there are 6 midwives who work at the hospital who also live in the same town who can assist with home deliveries.”

The casualties remain at 2 people killed, 6 injured, and a 6 month pregnant woman lost both her legs, not just one as was previously reported.