IDLIB, Syria, Aug 22 (IPS) – Pregnant women in internally displaced persons camps in northern Syria fear for their health and the health of their unborn children due to a lack of basic healthcare and healthy diet. These conditions exacerbate the illnesses and challenges women face, particularly amid the region’s widespread poverty, food insecurity and the remoteness of hospitals and health centres from the camps.
Pregnant women in the camps are prone to anemia, malnutrition and giving birth to stunted growth if they survive. The delay in accessing care poses a significant health risk to both pregnant women and their babies.
Fatima Al-Aboud, a 26-year-old displaced woman living in Ma’arat Misrin camp north of Idlib, is six months pregnant and suffers from severe anemia, which threatens both her health and that of her fetus.
“The doctor told me that during my pregnancy I should eat a balanced diet in sufficient quantities to maintain my health and that of my fetus, but poverty and high prices have prevented me from buying fruits and vegetables rich in vitamins and proteins. I also cannot afford the necessary medicines for pregnant women.”
Al-Aboud does not hide her fear that she will give birth to her child in poor health due to malnutrition or that labor will begin without a car available to transport her to the hospital. This is mainly because the road between the camp and the health centers is bad and uneven and is more than five kilometers away.
“I have a lot of fears because there are no comfortable places to sit or sleep in the tent, and I cannot get physical rest during pregnancy. As a pregnant woman, I have no private space or clean toilets,” Al-Aboud told IPS.
The health risks for pregnant women are increasing due to the great distance between health centres and hospitals and the camps. This puts them at risk of miscarriage or even death during childbirth. There is also a risk of premature births.
The Syria Response Coordinators team, which specializes in collecting information and statistics on the areas in northwestern Syria, reports that more than 87 percent of the camps lack medical aid posts and mobile clinics. There are also problems with transporting patients to nearby hospitals. This is because the financial situation of most displaced people is very poor and they are, without exception, unable to receive the necessary treatment for any medical condition.
Sara Al-Hassan, a 31-year-old displaced woman in a makeshift camp north of Syria, near the Turkish border, lost her baby during childbirth.
“The contractions started after midnight and because the hospitals were far from the camp and there was no transport, I had to rely on a nurse who lived nearby.”
She says her labor was difficult and her baby was in critical condition and needed urgent incubator. The baby died during transport to a hospital.
Al-Hassan confirmed that she does not want to have any more children and relies on contraception to avoid repeating the experience of pregnancy and childbirth in the camps. She added that her life in the tent is hard, as she does not have clean drinking water, bathing water and food. She would not be able to provide for the needs of newborn babies, as there is a significant shortage of personal hygiene items.
“Stress, anxiety and worrying rule my life and I feel powerless in front of my three children who live in difficult circumstances. Despite this, I do my best to take care of their hygiene and meet their needs,” says Al-Hassan.
Dr. Ola Al-Qudour, an obstetrics and gynecology specialist from the northwestern Syrian city of Idlib, talks about the suffering of pregnant women in the camps in northern Syria.
“Thousands of pregnant Syrian women are living in camps in harsh conditions, as most of them cannot meet their basic needs of food and medicine. Malnutrition leads to health problems that affect both the pregnant woman and the fetus, and exposes the mother to a decrease in milk supply after delivery, making her unable to feed her child.”
Al-Qudour points out that the lack of hospitals in the camps increases the suffering of pregnant women, which is why most cases have to be taken outside. He confirms that displaced women live in canvas tents and that women who give birth in the hospital often return to the tent after a few hours because of the crowds in the hospital. He knows that the first 24 hours after delivery are the most critical in terms of complications. That is why it is important to keep the mother in the hospital as long as possible.
She confirms that poor hygiene makes pregnant women more susceptible to influenza due to a decrease in their immunity, and that pregnant women who do not sleep enough can also expose them to early labor and affect the growth of the child after birth. She also indicates that non-sterile home births increase the risk of infection in newborns and mothers.
The doctor stresses the need to provide health care to pregnant women and newborns in the camps. This includes regular medical check-ups and early diagnosis of any health problems. The necessary care and nutrition should also be provided to mothers during pregnancy, childbirth and afterwards.
Due to the ongoing war and increasing displacement, more than two million people, including 604,000 women, remain in camps in northwestern Syria.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) says that as many as “660 camps (44 percent of the more than 1,500 camps) in Idleb and northern Aleppo lack water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) support, affecting more than 907,000 people, half of whom are children.”
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© Inter Press Service (2024) — All rights reservedOriginal source: Inter Press Service
