Pregnant Iraqi women fearful of Baghdad's dangerous roads

Pregnant Iraqi women fearful of Baghdad's dangerous roads
By LEILA FADEL
Knight Ridder Newspapers

BAGHDAD, Iraq — The dark of night holds special terror for expectant mothers in Baghdad.

Lamya Kadum, 26, who's in her seventh month, wanted to have her baby naturally so she could see him come out of her and then hold him. But the gunfire and explosions on Baghdad's dark roads might take her life and the life of her baby, whom she called her "ray of hope" in this place of misery. A planned Caesarean delivery could be one way to avoid that danger.

Huda Hussein, 20, didn't have that option, she said recently as she riffled through the pink and blue blankets she'd bought for her son. She wanted a natural labor, plus she and her husband couldn't afford a $200 to $400 Caesarean on his salary as a waiter at a hotel. She prayed that her baby wouldn't come at night.

"I'm so afraid," she confessed as she fingered the lace on the side of her future son's crib. "Maybe he'll have a better future."

In the end, complications forced a Caesarean anyway.

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