When will the conscience of the world act to alleviate their suffering?

(European)

Asmaa Ahmed was forced to flee her home in the northern Gaza Strip due to Israeli bombing before she could give birth to her child in the middle of the night in a shelter school in Gaza City, where there is no electricity.

A doctor helped Asmaa deliver her fetus by the light of a cell phone and cut the umbilical cord with multi-use scissors, and baby Faraj was born.

After her baby was 4 months old, Umm Faraj (31 years old) recounted her fears that accompanied birth: “I was very afraid that I would lose my baby. I told myself that I would die.”

As for Baraa Jaber, the nurse who helped her, she said, "It was very late. The occupation was bombing anyone who moved. We were not able to take her to the hospital."

Before International Women's Day, which falls the day after tomorrow, Friday, March 8, the World Health Organization estimates the number of pregnant women in the Gaza Strip at about 52,000 women, saying that they are at risk due to the collapse of the health system amid the raging war.

Fears are not limited to the birth itself, but extend to several challenges, such as keeping children alive in light of the deprivation of basic materials such as water and food.

The catastrophic conditions and death spreading everywhere raise fear in the hearts of pregnant women, including Malak Shabat (21 years old).

She took refuge in the city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip after being displaced several times from one area to another to escape Israeli air strikes.

“I am very afraid to give birth in this place,” says Shabat, who is close to giving birth and lives in a tent.

The specter of death haunts premature infants due to the scarcity of (European) medicines

Worse than hell

The United Nations indicated last month that only 12 hospitals were still in service out of 36. The restrictions, which the United Nations says were caused by Israel, caused most aid convoys to stop.

The United Nations Population Fund says that 62 aid packages of maternity materials are waiting to be allowed to enter through the Rafah crossing.

In the Emirati Maternity Hospital in Rafah, where about 1.5 million people took refuge, only 5 maternity rooms remain.

Samah Al-Helou arrived in Rafah in the last month of her pregnancy and struggled to get the care she needed.

She says, "They told me that I would need a simple surgery during childbirth. The surgery was delayed for two weeks because there were no doctors, no beds, and no operating rooms."

Later, Al-Helou gave birth to her child, Muhammad, but she was unable to stay in the hospital, as the doctors released her and her child because there were emergency births and there was no room for everyone.

She says, "I returned to the tent in the Al-Mawasi area in Rafah. It was very cold and I had severe pain as well. I felt like I would lose my son."

She added, "Our life here in the tent is harsh and worse than hell."

French doctor Raphael Petit - who was on a mission in the southern Gaza Strip - says that this quick exit from the hospital is routine.

He added, "When women give birth, their families come to pick them up to be discharged" from the hospital, noting that "the hospital is unable to schedule a follow-up appointment... This is impossible because there are many people coming to it."

Some women indicate that they were asked to bring mattresses and blankets in case they wanted to stay in the hospital after giving birth.

Other women had to give birth in hospitals or on the streets on land.

nightmare

The danger is not limited to women who are close to giving birth, but all pregnant women are at risk due to food shortages during wartime.

The United Nations Population Fund said in a report last month that the spread of unsanitary toilets and bathrooms is leading to widespread dangerous urinary tract infections.

According to the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), 95% of pregnant or breastfeeding women face severe nutritional deficiencies.

Since the outbreak of war, Roaa Al-Sindawi, who is pregnant with triplets, has been suffering from dizziness due to eating canned food that affects the absorption of iron, according to her doctor.

Al-Sindawi (20 years old) says, “I had to resort to hospices that distribute food... They provide beans, lentils, and pasta.”

She added, "I was able to eat this food for a week, but after that my stomach couldn't take it anymore... I got tired."

“There are many crises in the region that are disastrous for pregnant women,” said Dominique Allen, representative of the United Nations Population Fund in the Palestinian Territories.

She adds that due to the population density in Gaza and the absence of safe places, the situation is “worse than all our nightmares.”

Source: French