Iryna Oliinykova and her daughter Alisa

Alisa was long-awaited: for 5 years, Iryna and her husband Oleksii wanted to become parents. They found out that they would have a daughter during the war. Iryna went through the entire pregnancy alone — Oleksii protects Ukraine in the Armed Forces.

She felt a lot of stress due to the hostilities: worry for her husband at the front, rocket attacks and shahed raids. Iryna was admitted to the hospital.

I thanked God that I lived another day pregnant. But then Alisa decided it was time. It was evening, everyone was going to bed, and I started bleeding. A cesarean section was quickly performed. I was supposed to give birth on May 1, but Alisa was born on January 22, 2023, in the sixth month.

During the war, the number of premature babies has increased by at least 15%. There are thousands of babies being born prematurely, who cannot survive without special help. When Iryna realized that she was giving birth, she immediately wrote to Oleksii.

He apologized to the commander and came because it was scary for both of us. After birth, Alice was immediately taken away. We first saw her in the intensive care unit. They approached the incubator, and the baby was small: 33 centimeters, 870 grams.

For the first month and a half of her life, little Alisa was breathing with the help of an ALV device purchased thanks to UNITED24. Then, for another two and a half months, the mother and daughter lived in the hospital and waited for her to grow up and get stronger. Thanks to modern equipment and the professionalism of doctors, Alisa gained strength. The girl is now one year old. She is healthy and developing harmoniously. She only misses the rare but precious meetings with her father.

Dad and Alisa are in touch every day. They kiss each other through the phone's camera. Alisa misses him very much and is happy every time he calls. And when he visits, the joy is boundless. Our family is very grateful for the ALV device, because we are now the parents of such a beautiful girl.

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