Herat, Afghanistan – “When the baby was born, he wasn’t breathing. I immediately cleared his airways and began mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. Moments later, the baby gasped, let out a cry, and his colour turned a healthy pink. I was relieved.”

Midwife Khadija from the Masyan Village Family Health House could not forget the crucial moments when she responded to a desperate call from a man whose pregnant wife went into active labour in the middle of the desert as they were on the way to the hospital.

According to the husband, his wife, 26-year-old Shaima, started having contractions the day before. The contractions continued and intensified the next day, so he decided to bring her to the hospital.

On the way to the hospital, however, their car ran out of fuel in the middle of the desert. “She was in terrible pain and I was helpless,” the husband said.

Amidst the panic, he remembered to call the phone number of midwife Khadija from the nearby Family Health House in Masyan Village.

Upon receiving the call, Khadija wasted no time. She immediately gathered her medical supplies – essential medicines, sterile delivery tools, IV fluids – and asked her husband to drive her to the couple’s location.

“The car was stuck in the middle of nowhere. Shaima was inside the car, exhausted and in serious pain. Her water has broken,” Khadija recalled. “She looked at me and said she felt like dying.”

There was no time to lose. The baby was in distress, and the heartbeat was faint. With calm urgency, Khadija set up an IV line and guided Shaima through her breathing. After a while, a baby boy came out, but he was not breathing. 

Khadija did not give up. With a strong resolve to save Shaima’s newborn, she cleared the baby’s airways and expertly did a mouth-to-mouth resuscitation on the fragile newborn. And right in the middle of the desert, a newborn’s cry filled the air, to the delight of the parents.

Only then did Khadija exhale. She then cleaned up the mother and baby and brought them to the Family Health House, where she provided post-delivery care and counselling. Shaima and her husband were overwhelmed with gratitude. “Khadija saved our lives,” the couple said.

Shaima and her husband were also advised on postpartum care to support Shaima’s recovery and wellbeing. 

“They were grateful because I cared for Shaima with dignity and compassion—even in the most difficult moment,” said Khadija.

The Family Health House in Masyan, supported by UNFPA and the Government of Italy, has served over 4,000 women and girls in just the first four months of 2025. For Shaima and many others in remote corners of Afghanistan, it is more than a health facility. It has served as their saviour in the middle of nowhere, where hope seemed distant.