Pregnant women fear hospital visits after junta bombing of Mrauk-U maternity clinic

By Admin 04 Nov 2026

DMG Newsroom

4 November 2026, Mrauk-U

Pregnant women in Arakan State are increasingly anxious about seeking medical care and delivering their babies at local healthcare facilities as the military junta continues to carry out aerial attacks on hospitals and clinics in areas controlled by the Arakan Army.

On the evening of November 1, a junta airstrike hit a maternity ward and temporary healthcare clinic in Htanmarit Ward, Mrauk-U Town, killing five people, including a newborn infant, and injuring nine others.

The bombing of the maternity facility has spread fear among pregnant women across Arakan State.

"My due date is approaching," a pregnant woman from Teinnyo Village in Mrauk-U Township told DMG. "As airstrikes keep happening, I am terrified to go to the hospital. Since I delivered my first child via Caesarean section, I am also afraid to give birth at home without medical supervision."

Pregnant women in Arakan State already have limited access to functioning healthcare facilities because of severe shortages of doctors, medical personnel and supplies, compounded by the constant threat of aerial attacks.

"With these continuous air raids, I no longer dare to travel to Mrauk-U for medical checkups," another pregnant woman from Mrauk-U Township said. "Being heavily pregnant, it is extremely difficult to run and take cover when aircraft approach. I constantly worry that an air attack will hit while we are inside the clinic."

As the military regime suffers setbacks on ground battlefronts, it has repeatedly carried out aerial attacks on civilian towns, villages, hospitals, religious buildings, markets and schools across Arakan State.

Living under the constant threat of aerial bombardments, pregnant women face severe physical and psychological distress while trying to give birth safely.

"When my checkup date arrives, I am afraid to go if aircraft are flying overhead," Ma Zin Mar, a pregnant woman from Kyauktaw Township, said. "If I must go, I try to leave early in the morning and return quickly without staying long at the clinic. When labor starts, even if I am terrified, I cannot risk delivering at home without medical assistance, so I will have no choice but to go."

Similar attacks on healthcare facilities and civilian areas have claimed numerous lives in recent months.

During the junta bombing of Kyauktaw's India Market on September 28, a heavily pregnant woman and her unborn baby were killed. The UN's Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar reported that both died in the attack.

On October 5, a junta airstrike hit Saytanar Clinic in Ponnagyun Township, killing an 18-year-old student volunteer.

On March 24, 2024, a junta airstrike hit the general hospital in Kanhtaunggyi Town, Myebon Township, damaging patient wards and delivery rooms and seriously injuring a female healthcare worker.

On December 10, 2025, International Human Rights Day, a junta airstrike on Mrauk-U Hospital killed 33 civilians and injured 76 others.

Earlier, on May 15, 2024, a junta airstrike on Welgyihtaunt Hospital in Kyauktaw Township injured around 20 people, including healthcare workers and patients.

Local residents and human rights advocates have condemned attacks on healthcare facilities and civilians, describing them as war crimes.

"The military's targeted killing of pregnant mothers and civilians constitutes genocidal intent against Arakanese generations," an Arakanese human rights activist told DMG. "These acts are blatant war crimes. Because international bodies fail to take decisive action, the junta acts with complete impunity."

Amid mounting aerial attacks and severe shortages of food and essential medicines in conflict-affected communities, a coalition of 70 Arakan civil society organizations issued a joint statement on October 30 calling for the immediate declaration of a no-fly zone to protect civilian lives.