People often forget about the need for obstetric and gynecological equipment in emergency situations. But women do not stop being pregnant because there is a catastrophe. Instead, they may give birth without any medical attention or equipment for emergency obstetric care. For every million people affected by natural or civil emergencies, some 600 births per week can be expected. In times of great stress and trauma, a high number of premature births and miscarriages are likely to occur. The situation is complicated by cases of coerced sex leading to pregnancy, and the related injuries and psychological trauma. One of many agencies to assist in emergencies, UNFPA is specifically involved in delivering obstetric care and supplies. For instance:

In November, 2000, UNFPA distributed emergency home delivery kits to pregnant women in East Timor, where virtually every medical facility had been damaged or destroyed by widespread conflict. The Fund also provided delivery supplies intended for use at local health centres and clinics by trained midwives and doctors to carry out normal deliveries, to perform sutures under local anaesthesia, and to stabilise potentially dangerous conditions such as haemorrhage before patients are transferred to a larger medical centre.

The delivery kits provided the most basic supplies needed to perform a clean, safe delivery at home, including soap, plastic sheeting, razor blades for cutting umbilical cords, pictorial instruction sheets, and cotton cloths to wrap newborn babies. An estimated 85 per cent of babies in East Timor are delivered at home, 60 per cent of these home deliveries are not attended by trained health personnel. East Timor’s rate of maternal mortality is among the highest in the world.

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Following a 1999 cyclone in Orissa, India, UNFPA shipped emergency reproductive health supplies, including equipment for the safe deliveries,  to victims of the disaster. The supplies were distributed through the state health system and international aid agencies as part of the United Nations-coordinated relief in the eastern Indian coastal state. The supplies were used at local health centres by midwives and doctors to carry out normal deliveries, to perform sutures under local anaesthesia, and to stabilize potentially dangerous conditions such as haemorrhage before transferring patients to a hospital. Other equipment was sent for performing caesarean sections and to resuscitating mothers and babies. This equipment is reusable and would normally be used at larger health centres or hospitals. UNFPA had been working in several very poor districts of Orissa prior to the cyclone, assisting local governments and community groups in the areas of reproductive health, family planning and women's empowerment.

Following Turkey's second devastating earthquake in three months, UNFPA sent emergency reproductive health kits to the affected region around Bolu. Reproductive health and family services in the region's four provinces had been interrupted or curtailed as a result of a massive earthquake earlier that year. Turkey's Ministry of Health helped distribute the emergency kits, which provide the most basic supplies to perform clean, safe deliveries. An estimated 90 per cent  of babies in Turkey are delivered in public and private hospitals with at least 70 per cent attended by health personnel who depend on this type of equipment. UNFPA also helped restore supplies of medical equipment, contraceptives and drugs and train health personnel