Pregnant Women in Rakhine Struggle Due to Insufficient Food and Medicine

Arakha Times (29 January 2025)

Pregnant women in liberated areas of Rakhine State are reportedly struggling with concerns over insufficient food and medical supplies, according to statements given to Arakha Times.

A pregnant woman in one of the liberated areas expressed that they are worried not only about childbirth but also about basic survival needs.

“We don’t expect everything we need, but we’d be satisfied even with just rice. We are facing difficulties with food. Right now, I haven’t even cooked rice yet. Last night, I couldn’t eat rice. Whatever I ate was because someone else cooked and gave it to me. I don’t produce much breast milk either, so my baby relies on powdered milk,” she said.

In Rakhine State, clashes between the Arakan Army (AA) and the military junta resumed on 13 November 2023. Since the fighting began, the military junta has blocked access to food and medical supplies.

As a result, hundreds of pregnant women are facing challenges with childbirth due to shortages of medicine and essential goods.

According to Phyo Maung from the Thandwe IDP (Internally Displaced Persons) Support Group, pregnant women are having difficulty giving birth because they lack nutritional food and prenatal vitamins.

“Pregnant women are not getting proper prenatal vitamins, and they are not eating a full, nutritious diet, which leads to difficulties during childbirth. For us, we can only provide some food support to pregnant women, mainly rice. We also give each pregnant woman 50,000 kyats (around $12) monthly. The main needs for pregnant women are food and medicine. Unfortunately, we are unable to fully provide these, and we feel saddened by this,” he said.

The Laywaddy Thandwe IDP Support Group confirmed that they are currently providing 50,000 kyats monthly to each pregnant woman under their care.

Similarly, in November 2024, mothers who had just given birth in Rakhine were unable to produce breast milk due to malnutrition. As a result, infants as young as one month old were being fed condensed milk instead.

Currently, over 60,000 people are displaced in Thandwe, with hundreds of them being pregnant women. Apart from food and medicine, they also lack warm clothing and blankets for the winter season.

Despite preparing for childbirth, the difficult conditions have led some pregnant women to consider giving birth without proper medical support.

“Our main needs are rice, some food, blankets, and warm clothes. Since it’s winter, medicine is also a priority. If children fall ill, even finding a single pill for treatment is difficult. Medicine is critically needed. When childbirth preparations don’t go as planned, we just end up improvising. There’s no prior planning,” a pregnant woman explained.

Most displaced pregnant women in Rakhine are reportedly giving birth with the assistance of untrained individuals due to a lack of access to hospitals and clinics.

As part of the “Operation 1027” launched by the Arakan Army (AA), 14 out of 17 townships in Rakhine have come under its control.

Meanwhile, the military junta has blocked all land and water routes to Rakhine, causing significant hardships for displaced civilians in accessing food and medical supplies, according to locals.