CNN's Clarissa Ward Is Pregnant, Expecting Third Baby While On-Site Covering the War in Ukraine

Brent Swails/CNN

While this isn't Clarissa Ward's first go-round with pregnancy, the CNN chief international correspondent is experiencing the journey like never before — while reporting from the front lines of the war in Ukraine.

Ward is pregnant, expecting her third baby, another son, with husband Philipp von Bernstorff this spring. The couple is already parents to sons Caspar, 2, and Ezra, 4.

Speaking to PEOPLE exclusively about her exciting news, Ward explains that her pregnancy journey has been "quite challenging" as she covers the news in Ukraine, where she has spent more than 12 weeks reporting since the war began in February 2022.

"Obviously, it's a different experience being back in Ukraine 20 weeks pregnant," says Ward, who is currently in Kharkiv shooting a special to air on CNN ahead of the Ukraine war anniversary next month.

"I am not going to any frontline locations and the team has gone to great lengths to locate all the perinatal facilities along our routes," she continues. "It can still be quite challenging with the long drives and severe cold and you have to be vigilant about self-care, but I remind myself that thousands of Ukrainian women are living this experience every day."

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

Clarissa Ward Family

RELATED: Inside the Ukraine Invasion: TV Correspondents Share the Reality of Work, and Life, in a War Zone

Now in her second trimester — which Ward says she's "always found to be sort of the sweet spot in pregnancy" — the journalist is feeling good as she awaits her little one's arrival.

"I don't feel nauseous and I have a lot of energy and it's no longer all hush-hush," she says. "But I am not yet huge and a bit fed up as I tend to get in the third trimester."

As she prepares to add another baby boy to her brood, Ward says her whole family is "beyond excited" for the new addition.

"The fact that we are having a third boy is thrilling and a little bit petrifying. I will be heavily outnumbered and my boys have SO much energy!" she shares. "But we are beyond excited."

"I think partly because I am an only child, I have always really loved the idea of having a big family," says Ward. "And boys always love their mamas."