That day was in November 2023, about a month after the war in Gaza. Ala’a is one of the estimated 155,000 pregnant women and new mothers in the Gaza Strip who have been forced to give birth over the past year under fire, in tents, fleeing bombs and often without help, medicine or even clean water.
“The sound of the rockets and bombs was louder than my happiness, but I decided that with my little baby we would overcome all difficulties,” she wrote in a letter thanking the tireless health workers who helped her deliver her baby in a field hospital. in Khan Younis.
“We will survive no matter what happens.”
UNFPA
A letter from a mother in Gaza.
Catastrophic situation
The situation for pregnant women in Gaza is catastrophic: exhausted, weak from hunger, with health services almost completely destroyed and none of the hospitals fully operational, they have few places to turn for care and treatment.
After hundreds of attacks As for medical facilities, only 17 of the 36 hospitals are even partially functioning.
Fuel and supplies are also dangerously scarce, healthcare workers are being killed or forced to flee and those who remain are starving at a time when the entire population of Gaza is facing a wave of injuries, illness and disease, including first case of polio in more than 25 years.
Dangers of relocation
More than 500,000 women in Gaza have lost access to essential services such as pre- and post-natal care, family planning and infection treatment. Among them, more than 17,000 pregnant women are on the brink of famine.
“After seven months, I was forced to leave my home and live in a tent,” Ala’a continued in her letter. “I cried a lot because I felt like my brave baby would never see the walls of his room that I had always dreamed of preparing for him.”
But her fear didn’t end there as she was soon evacuated again.
“It was a cry from the bottom of my heart (that I had) to give birth outside my home,” Ala’a wrote. “After fifty days I fled under fire, running, screaming and crying because of the bombs. At that moment I was afraid I was going to lose my baby.”
About 1.9 million people are currently displaced in Gaza, many of whom have been forced to move several times in the past year. Since the start of the war, rates of miscarriage, obstetric complications, low birth weight and premature birth have reportedly risen alarmingly, mainly due to stress, malnutrition and an almost total lack of maternity care.
Recalling her time escaping the bombings, Ala’a wrote: “We are here, starting from nothing – no shelter, no home, not even a destination. We built another tent and promised each other again that we must survive, no matter what.”
A glimmer of light
“Two weeks later I felt some pain… They were contractions! (I thought) ‘No. It’s still too early, I want to give birth at home.’”
After four days of labor, Ala’a visited a field hospital in Khan Younis run by UK-Med, a humanitarian non-governmental organization (NGO) with a specialized maternity unit supported by the United Kingdom and the UN Agency for Sexual and Reproductive Care . health, UNFPA.
“I came for a check-up and everything was great,” she continued. “The midwife and nurses were friendly and cordial. I spoke to Dr Helen and she encouraged me to come and give birth there.”
When the time came, they made sure Ala’a delivered her baby safely.
“I went straight to the hospital at 2am and all the midwives were ready. But they told me there was no possibility of a natural birth, it was too dangerous.”
UNFPA provides the hospital’s maternity ward with reproductive health kits and supplies and ensures that staff can provide comprehensive care, including for obstetric emergencies.
Ala’a and her newborn Mohammad have recovered well, despite the ongoing war and the lack of clean water, food or safety.
“It was the best decision to come here to give birth,” she wrote. “I like that they smile all the time, even though they are under pressure. They are a great team.”
Healthcare under fire
The impact of the war in Gaza on women and girls is staggering: more than 500,000 women have lost access to essential services such as pre- and post-natal care, family planning and treatment of infections; more than 17,000 pregnant women are in serious stages of hunger.
UNFPA and its partners are committed to providing reproductive health care, distributing life-saving medicines, medical equipment and supplies and deploying teams of midwives and health workers in both official and makeshift camps.
Six mobile maternal care units Field hospitals have also been set up to provide emergency obstetric care to mothers and their newborns wherever they are. But it is impossible to provide continued support without a ceasefire, full access to healthcare and sustainable financing.
Despite all the hardships she has endured, Ala’a refuses to lose heart.
“From Mohammad, my son, thank you for everything,” she wrote, expressing gratitude to the hospital staff.
“We are grateful for you. I hope we meet again in better times.”
