Expecting on the Front Lines: Motherhood in Ukraine’s Military
Pregnant Ukrainian soldiers say they are fighting for the future of their country and for their children.
By Cassandra Vinograd and Oleksandr Chubko
“I realized that I really needed to be at home making a baby, not sitting in this trench,” recalled Olena, a combat medic. But that wasn’t an immediate option, and her desire to start a family was as strong as her need to serve. After about six months of trying — navigating appointments with fertility doctors around her limited leave — “it finally happened,” said Olena, who like other women interviewed for this article requested that only her first name be used for reasons of military protocol. She got pregnant, but continued to serve...
Ukraine’s military is finding it hard to recruit young men as the war with Russia grinds on, but women — all volunteers — are a bright spot. The number of women serving has grown more than 20 percent to about 70,000 since Russia’s invasion in 2022. Those who become pregnant often serve in tough conditions under relentless shelling, living without heat in the winter, or running water and proper toilets.
“It’s terrifying — every single day,” said Nadia, 25, who served as a frontline radio operator until she was eight and half months pregnant. “You wake up wondering if everything is OK, if everyone is still alive,” she said, describing how every morning she would brush plaster off her bed that had fallen from the ceiling after a night of explosions...
While the U.S. Army and many other militaries remove pregnant soldiers from combat zones, Ukrainian women usually serve until their seventh month. And that is in a military that doctors and soldiers say is ill-equipped to support them — from uniforms that don’t fit pregnant women, to a lack of prenatal care and nurseries — amid the costs and challenges of fighting the war...
“Our children are the future of this country,” said Olya, 39, a combat medic in eastern Ukraine who gave birth to a girl in May. “We have to protect our children. And we have to liberate the country for their future.”...
“I never thought we would have so many women at war,” Dr. Marchenko said. A female soldier’s pregnancy only differs from a civilian’s in that it provides “more purpose,” Dr. Marchenko said. “They are reminded what they are fighting for.”
For the whole article:
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/25/world/europe/ukraine-military-war-pregnancy.html