Death by aid cuts How halting USAID led to the loss of a mother in Yemen

When she woke on that Sunday morning, Fatima was part of a family preparing to celebrate. She was due to give birth to her third child any day and her brother was on his way home from Saudi Arabia to get married.

- Kat Lay Saleh A Binshamlan

But by mid-afternoon, the family were instead preparing for a funeral - Fatima and her baby were dead.

The family said they did not follow international news, but Fatima's death can be directly traced back to decisions taken weeks earlier, thousands of miles away, in Washington DC.

Fatima lived in the village of Dhubay'ah, in eastern Yemen's al-Masilah district. At the entrance to the village, where goats and camels wander freely, rusting signs bear the logos of international organisations, evidence of sporadic aid efforts in the area.

Women marry young - some in their early teens - and have large families. According to the local health centre, there are now 56 pregnant women among the village's 171 households.

Becoming pregnant in Yemen can be risky. The country has a high maternal death rate: one woman dies in pregnancy or childbirth every two hours, according to the UN. About 118 women die from pregnancy-related causes for every 100,000 live births. In the UK, the figure is eight.

When Fatima's labour pains began on 25 May, her parents took her to the nearby al-Eis health clinic. "I kept telling her: 'You must be near the doctor, because if anything happens, it's better for it to happen there,'" said her mother.

Fatima had already needed a blood transfusion late in her pregnancy. "When we finally took her to the doctor, everything was fine - she was even walking on her own."

Fatima was seen by midwives and then by Reem, the unit's doctor. "When she arrived, she was in pain but was responsive and communicative," Reem said. "The foetal heartbeat was stable and her vital signs were normal."

By midday, Fatima's cervix was fully dilated and she was moved to a delivery bed. But something was wrong - the baby's heartbeat was slowing and it had not moved farther down the birth canal.

Fatima told staff: "I feel like I will not be able to give birth. I feel abnormal and the heat is unbearable."