Midwives in Pakistan navigate floods to care for parents and babies

Summary

Podcast Summary: Climate Connections

Episode: Midwives in Pakistan Navigate Floods to Care for Parents and Babies

Host: Dr. Anthony Leiserowitz
Guest: Neha Mankani, Midwife, Mama Baby Fund
Release Date: May 11, 2026

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Overview

This concise episode of Climate Connections spotlights the critical role midwives play in Pakistan, providing essential maternal health services in regions repeatedly struck by extreme flooding—disasters fueled by climate change. Through the story of Neha Mankani and the Mama Baby Fund, the discussion connects the dots between global warming, public health, and practical solutions borne of resilience and innovation.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Impact of Climate Change on Maternal Health

• Host Dr. Anthony Leiserowitz sets the stage by noting that extreme weather events, increasingly common due to global warming, are reshaping daily life and health outcomes in Pakistan.
• Monsoon floods, intensified by melting glaciers, have been especially devastating:

  "In 2022, flooding was so severe during the monsoon season that a third of the country was underwater." (A, 00:23)

2. Challenges for Expectant Parents

• The flooding crisis left vulnerable populations in dire conditions:

  "Some of them were living in flooded areas. They were living in tents. They were living in displacement camps." (B, 00:33)

• Prenatal care and safe birth became a “frightening ordeal” for many, underscoring the intersection of climate disaster and health access.

3. Innovative Healthcare Solutions: The Mama Baby Fund

• Neha Mankani describes her group's commitment to maternal health across flood-affected zones:

  "During this and other floods, her group helped provide maternity care and childbirth support." (A, 00:38)

• The Mama Baby Fund runs a solar-powered clinic on Baba island, designed for resilience against sea level rise and frequent flooding.

4. Adapting to the Rising Tide

• The clinic’s elevation is a key adaptation:

  "In times of the month that the tide is high, the water to come still right outside my clinic, but it won’t come in because it’s an elevated facility." (B, 00:56)

• This ensures uninterrupted service, even as floodwaters threaten the island community.

5. Access: The Boat Ambulance

• To overcome the logistical challenges posed by floods, the Mama Baby Fund operates a dedicated boat ambulance:

  "It goes from island to island picking up women who need to come to us or they need to go to the city for some kind of emergency care." (B, 01:08)

• This service is critical for ensuring timely and safe transport for those requiring urgent medical attention.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the scale of disaster:

  "In 2022, flooding was so severe during the monsoon season that a third of the country was underwater." (A, 00:23)

• Lived experience of expectant parents:

  "Some of them were living in flooded areas. They were living in tents. They were living in displacement camps." (B, 00:33)

• Clinic’s climate adaptation:

  "The water...comes still right outside my clinic, but it won’t come in because it’s an elevated facility." (B, 00:56)

• Boat ambulance for care:

  "It goes from island to island picking up women who need to come to us or they need to go to the city for some kind of emergency care." (B, 01:08)

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Important Timestamps

• 00:01–00:23 – Introduction: Context of climate-driven flooding in Pakistan
• 00:33–00:38 – Living conditions for displaced expectant parents (Neha Mankani)
• 00:38–00:56 – Mama Baby Fund response; solar-powered, elevated clinic
• 01:04–01:15 – Description and function of the boat ambulance

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Tone and Style

The episode maintains an urgent yet compassionate tone, blending brief factual reporting with direct witness testimony. Mankani’s accounts bring both vulnerability and determination to the foreground, matched by the host’s concise, informative style.

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Summary

Midwives in Pakistan Navigate Floods to Care for Parents and Babies shines a light on climate change's human impact, illustrating how local innovation—like solar-powered clinics and boat ambulances—can make hope tangible for vulnerable families on the climate frontlines. The episode is a powerful, inspiring reminder of the connection between environmental crises and public health, and of the courage driving life-saving adaptation.

Transcript

[A]

I'm Dr. Anthony Lisewitz and this is Climate Connections. In Pakistan, a group of midwives is helping provide medical care to expectant parents and babies on the front lines of climate change. Several times in recent years, extreme rain and melting glaciers have caused widespread flooding in Pakistan. In 2022, flooding was so severe during the monsoon season that a third of the country was underwater. For people needing prenatal care or a safe place to give birth, the ordeal was frightening.

[B]

Some of them were living in flooded areas. They were living in tents. They were living in displacement camps.

[A]

That's midwife Neha Mankani of the Mama Baby Fund. During this and other floods, her group helped provide maternity care and childbirth support. And it operates a solar powered clinic on Baba island off the coast of Karachi to serve coastal communities that are vulnerable to flooding from sea level rise.

[B]

In times of the month that the tide is high, the water to come still right outside my clinic, but it won't come in because it's an elevated facility.

[A]

To get patients there, the Mama Baby Fund runs a free boat ambulance.

[B]

It goes from island to island picking up women who need to come to us or they need to go to the city for some kind of emergency care

[A]

so expectant parents and babies can get the care they need even during a flood. Climate Connections is produced by the Yale center for Environmental Communication. To learn more about climate change, visit climateconnections.org.