The date was November 2023, about a month after the war in Gaza. Ala’a is among the estimates 155,000 pregnant women and new mothers in the Gaza Strip, people over the past year have been forced to give birth under fire, in tents, fleeing bombs and often without help, medicine or even clean water.
“The sound of rockets and bombs was louder than my happiness, but I decided that with my little baby, we will overcome all difficulties,” she wrote in a letter thanking the medical staff. Tired of helping her give birth at a field hospital. in Khan Younis.
“We will survive no matter what happens.”
Letter from a mother in Gaza.
Dire situation
The situation for pregnant women in Gaza is dire: Exhausted, debilitated by hunger, health services are almost completely destroyed and with no fully functioning hospitals, they have few places to go. care and treatment.
Afterward hundreds of attacks Regarding medical facilities, only 17 out of 36 hospitals are partially operational.
Fuel and supplies are also running dangerously low, medical staff are being killed or forced to flee and those who remain are in short supply at a time when Gaza’s entire population is facing a surge in population. increased injuries, illnesses and epidemics, including epidemics. first case of polio for over 25 years.
Risk of displacement
More than 500,000 women in Gaza have lost access to vital services such as pre- and post-natal care, family planning and treatment of infections. Among them, more than 17,000 pregnant women are facing hunger.
Ala’a continued in the letter: “After seven months, I was forced to leave home and live in a tent. “I cried a lot, feeling my brave child would never see the wall of the room I always dreamed of preparing for him.”
However, her suffering did not end there, as she was soon evacuated again.
“It was a cry from the depths of my heart [that I had] gave birth right in my home,” Ala’a wrote. “After 50 days, I fled under bullets, ran, screamed and cried because of the bombs. At that time, I was afraid I would lose my child.”
About 1.9 million people are currently displaced in Gaza, many of whom have been forced to relocate multiple times over the past year. Since the start of the war, miscarriages, obstetric complications, low birth weight and premature births are said to have increased at an alarming rate, mainly due to stress, malnutrition and almost no maternity care. .
Recalling his escape from the bombardment, Ala’a wrote, “Here we were, starting from nothing – no shelter, no home, not even a destiny. We set up our tents again and promised each other that we must survive, no matter what happens.”
A glimmer of light
“Two weeks later, I felt some pain…It was labor pain! [I thought] ‘ARE NOT. It’s too early, I want to give birth at home.’”
After four days of labor, Ala’a visited the field hospital in Khan Younis run by UK-Med, a humanitarian non-governmental organization (NGO) whose specialist maternity unit is supported by the UK and the United Nations sexual and reproductive agency. health, UNFPA.
She continued: “I came in for a check-up and everything was great. “The midwife and nurse were very kind and enthusiastic. I talked to Dr. Helen and she encouraged me to go there and give birth.”
When the time came, they made sure Ala’a gave birth safely.
“I went straight to the hospital at 2am and all the midwives were ready. But they told me there was no way to give birth naturally, it was too dangerous.”
UNFPA provides hospital obstetrics and gynecology departments with reproductive health care kits and supplies, and ensures staff can provide comprehensive care, including obstetric emergencies department.
Ala’a and her newborn Mohammad recovered well, despite the ongoing war and lack of clean water, food or security.
She wrote: “Coming here to give birth was the best decision. “I like that they always smile even when under pressure. They are a great team.”
More than 500,000 women in Gaza have lost access to vital health services.
Health care under fire
The impact of the war in Gaza on women and girls is staggering: More than anything 500,000 women loss of access to important services such as prenatal and postnatal care, family planning and treatment of infections; More than 17,000 pregnant women are in a state of severe hunger.
UNFPA and dedicated partners provide reproductive health support, distribute life-saving medicines, medical equipment and supplies, and deploy teams of midwives and medical staff in both official camps and temporary camps.
Six mobile maternal health unit field hospitals have also been established to provide emergency obstetric care to mothers and newborns anytime, anywhere. But it is impossible to provide ongoing support without a ceasefire, full access to health services and sustainable funding.
Despite all the hardships he endured, Ala’a refused to give up.
“From my son Mohammad, thank you for everything,” she wrote, expressing gratitude to the staff at the hospital.
“We are very grateful to you. I hope we will meet again in better times.”
