Hamida's Camp Pregnancy (37 images)

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Hamida, full term pregnant, and her husband Mohammad Ali living in the Keamari tent camp with their 3 children and awaiting their baby.
Coming from Shirkarpur, they lost their home and all their other belongings in the flood that swept through the whole of Pakistan in the summer of 2010.
  • Hamida opens up their tent after heavy winds have calmed down. Karachi, Pakistan, 2010

  • A view of one of the many camps for flood victims. Heavy monsoon rains displaced over 20 million people across Pakistan in the summer of 2010. The IDP's (Internally displaced people) now live in tents or schools used as temporary shelter and wait for the water to recede and return home to rebuild their lives. Karachi, Pakistan, 2010

  • A midwife checks the position and growth of Hamida's baby. Nervously she looks at the midwife to find out if everything is alright. Karachi, Pakistan, 2010

  • Mohammad Rafique closes the tent while the midwife examen's his mother and checks the growth and position of the baby. Karachi, Pakistan, 2010

  • Some plates and cups are some household items the family have been able to gather since living in the camp. The flood water destroyed their house and all their belongings and they had to flee the area in a panic with nothing more then the clothes on their backs. Karachi, Pakistan, 2010

  • Mohammad Ali softly pads Hamida on her head who is counting down the final days, waiting to give birth to their 4th child. Karachi, Pakistan, 2010

  • Mehmooda (Hamida's youngest child) is trying on grown-up slippers while Hamida talks to neighbours visiting their tent for a talk. Most children have no toys and there is hardly any schooling for the children living in the camps. Language often is the biggest problem. Most families in the camps speak Sindhi whilst the classes are held in Urdu. Karachi, Pakistan, 2010

  • Mehmooda walks around the tent in grown-up slippers. Karachi, Pakistan, 2010

  • A midwife checks the growth and position of Hamida's baby in a tent set up for the midwives and nurses to work in. The Pakistani Medical Association has been providing free care for a number of camps and trying to treat the displaced communities in the camps. For most pregnant women in the camp this is the first time they have prenatal care and regular checkups during their pregnancy. Karachi, Pakistan, 2010

  • Mehmooda bites her hand. Karachi, Pakistan, 2010

  • Hamida worries after she heard she might have to go to the hospital for a c-section instead of a normal delivery. During her first two deliveries she suffered major complications and almost bled to death. The trauma of this experience made her very afraid of hospitals and operations in general. Karachi, Paksitan, 2010

  • Mehmooda and Moha Rafique play in the tent that has been their temporary home for the past two months. Karachi, Pakistan, 2010

  • Hamida plays with her children and tickles Ahmed Ali. Karachi, Pakistan, 2010

  • Moha Rafique found a twig and string and tries to figure out if he can make something out of it to play with. Having lost the few toys they had before the flood and no schooling in the camp, the children become very resourceful in ways to play and keeping occupied. Karachi, Pakistan, 2010



  • Hamida changes Mehmooda's clothes outside the tent. After washing the clothes are put out to dry on the collected firewood. Karachi, Pakistan, 2010

  • Most families eat food with their hands. Personal hygiene is often a problem, especially in the camps. Washing hands before and after meals is often forgotten or with lack of water not possible. Karachi, Pakistan, 2010

  • Moha Rafique is getting food for his mother, grandma and siblings while is father has returned to their village to survey the damage to their house. Karachi, Pakistan, 2010

  • Hamida smiles. Karachi, Pakistan, 2010




  • On the 14th of November 2010 Hamida gives birth to a healthy baby boy. The pregnant women in her camp are provided with free care and skilled assistance in a private hospital located in the vicinity of the camp. Coming mostly from rural areas all over Pakistan, the women are hesitant to go to a hospital to give birth since they are used to deliver at home with the assistance of their village dai (traditional midwife). Karachi, Pakistan, 2010

  • A nurse washes Hamida's newborn with oil while the midwife and nurses provide post delivery care to Hamida. The care was provided free of cost by a private hospital close to the camp of flood victims. They gave a standard of care that the women in the camps are not used to and normally cannot afford. Karachi, Pakistan, 2010

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