At 39 weeks, Fatima gave birth to a healthy baby girl. For the first time, she held her own child in her arms. "I feel so happy because I finally have a daughter of my own to hold and care for," she says. "I am so proud of her."

But everything changed when she became pregnant for the eighth time. Health workers at an IRC-supported facility reviewed her history and flagged the pregnancy as high-risk. She was quickly referred for specialized care and was closely monitored for the rest of her pregnancy.

For years, Fatima prayed for a child. But one after another, seven pregnancies each ended in heartbreak. In her community in Maiduguiri, Borno State, specialized maternal care was hard to come by, so Fatima did not know why she kept losing her pregnancies.

Both were examined, given supplements, and told their babies are doing well. The care is free, which is why they can go at all. Supported by the Myanmar Humanitarian Fund, the clinic offers primary, maternal and child, sexual and reproductive, and mental health care.

"I have always been worried," she said. "Will I be able to deliver safely? If I cannot eat nutritious food, will it affect the baby?" She went for her first check-up at a clinic run by the IRC, with her sister-in-law Husana — also 20, also expecting ⬇️

Majida is 20 and pregnant with her second child. She lives in Rakhine State, Myanmar, in a house shared by 15 people. Her husband drives a rickshaw and sometimes fishes at sea. The family rarely earns enough daily to make ends meet ⬇️