Mariana Vishegirskaya became globally recognisable this week when images of her injured and covered in blood circulated round the world as she was evacuated from Mariupol maternity hospital after Russian bombing killed three people around her.
And now, as a sprinkling of happy news amid the violence and chaos, it’s been reported that Mariana has welcomed a baby girl just days after she was caught in the horrific shelling attack.
Kyiv-based journalist Olga Tokariuk wrote on Twitter: 'I received an update from a relative of Marianna - a pregnant girl from Mariupol's bombed hospital. They were able to reach her on the phone briefly.
‘Last night at 10pm, Marianna gave birth to a baby girl! They are ok, but it's very cold in Mariupol and the bombing doesn't stop.'
Pictured lying in a hospital bed in the same pyjamas she was evacuated in, with her baby under the crook of her arm, Mariana looks uncomfortable and tired with cuts across her lip and eyebrow in new images taken by the Associated Press.
Her partner Yuri is seen cradling their baby daughter, who is swaddled in white blankets, as Mariana rests and grips onto her bed’s metal handles that are sandwiched between cardboard boxes of supplies and another mother’s bed.
Mariana is one of thousands of women who are giving birth in a conflict zone, with Ukrainian women’s magazines now publishing guidance of how to deliver their babies in a bomb shelter for those expecting. According to the UN, an estimated 80,000 mothers are due to give birth in Ukraine in the next three months and there are huge fears for the safety of pregnant women after the Mariupol attack.
The images of Mariana being evacuated from the maternity hospital have been greatly politicised since they were released. Despite being taken by credible AP photographers, Russia’s London embassy claimed the beauty blogger had been paid to play the role of a victim in the photos, with Russia’s foreign minister Sergey Lavrov claiming the hospital was empty of patients.
Quickly, the UK’s culture secretary Nadine Dorries branded the Russian embassy’s Tweet as ‘fake news’ and Twitter removed the post for ‘denial of violent events’. But trolling has continued across Mariana’s social media with accounts asking her how much she charges for a hospital shoot since Russia made claims she was a hired model.
But Mariana, and the women like her, have more to save their strength for than internet trolls. With food shortages, dangerous births, and limited medical care, Ukrainian women’s lives are even further at risk as they attempt to welcome their children into the world in bomb shelters and makeshift bunkers.
To find out what you can do to help people in Ukraine now, visit our explainer here.
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