Health workers report a significant rise in stillbirths this year in villages across the upper Sai Din area of Buthidaung Township, Arakan State, due to the lack of adequate healthcare for pregnant women.
The upper Sai Din area comprises approximately 18 villages, where more than five cases of stillbirths have been reported in 2025.
“A pregnant woman is not receiving the essential healthcare she needs. This area has very poor road access and is far from hospitals or clinics. As a result, babies are being stillborn,” said a healthcare worker from Arakan State.
Most villages in the upper Sai Din are predominantly inhabited by the Khami and Mro ethnic groups, who depend mainly on agriculture and forest resources to fulfill their basic needs.
Villagers from the upper Sai Din must travel about five hours over rough roads and waterways to reach the nearest hospital or clinic. Consequently, access to healthcare is severely limited. Moreover, travel costs can exceed 500,000 kyats, making it very difficult for them to afford medical treatment.
“We don’t have a steady daily income, so when something happens, we lack the money for medical treatment. The travel distance is long, and the expenses are high,” said a local man from Buthidaung Township.
Local residents report that, in addition to stillbirths, there have been cases in Buthidaung Township where both mother and baby have died during childbirth.
“A pregnant woman needed an emergency blood transfusion during childbirth, so I went to the hospital to donate blood. There, I witnessed the baby being born already dead inside the mother’s womb. The delivery was only hours apart, and the mother also passed away. It’s deeply worrying for all pregnant women,” said a local woman from Buthidaung Township.
Since November 2023, when the battles to capture town began in Arakan State, the military council has blocked land and water routes into the region. Consequently, local communities are facing shortages of consumer goods and a severe lack of medical supplies.
There are concerns that pregnant women and children under two years old in Arakan State are not receiving necessary vaccinations.
sent by Aung Htein (DMG)
