IDLIB, Syria, Aug 22 (IPS) – Pregnant women in northern Syria’s internally displaced camps fear for their lives and the lives of their unborn children due to a lack of basic health care and healthy food. These conditions increase the diseases and challenges faced by women, especially in the midst of widespread poverty in the region, lack of food, and the remoteness of hospitals and health centers in the camps.
Pregnant women in the camps are at risk of anemia, malnutrition, and give birth to disabled children if they survive. Delays in getting care pose a serious health risk to both pregnant women and their babies.
Fatima Al-Aboud, a 26-year-old woman who was displaced from the Ma’arat Misrin camp in northern Idlib, is six months pregnant and suffering from pernicious anemia, which puts her life and that of the fetus at risk.
“The doctor told me that I need to eat nutritious food in sufficient quantity throughout my pregnancy to preserve 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 can’t even afford the medicine that pregnant women need.”
Al-Aboud does not hide her fear of giving birth to a child with poor health due to malnutrition or her birth starting without a car to take her to the hospital, especially since the road between the camp and the health centers is poor and difficult. and it is more than five kilometers away.
“I have a lot of fear, as there are no comfortable places to sit or sleep inside the tent, and I don’t get physical rest when I’m pregnant. As a pregnant woman, I don’t have a private place and clean toilets,” said Al-Aboud. IPS.
The health risks faced by pregnant women increase due to the distance of health centers and hospitals from the camps, putting them at risk of miscarriage and even death during childbirth, as well as the possibility of giving birth prematurely.
The Syria Response Coordinators team, which focuses on collecting information and statistics in the northwestern areas of Syria, reports that more than 87 percent of the camps suffer from a lack of medical facilities and mobile clinics, and there are difficulties in transporting patients to nearby hospitals. , knowing that the financial situation of many of these displaced people is very bad and they cannot get the necessary treatment for any health condition without exception.
Sara Al-Hassan, a 31-year-old woman who was displaced from a makeshift camp in northern Syria near the Turkish border and a mother of three, lost her child in childbirth.
“I went into labor after midnight, and because of the distance of the hospitals from the camp and the lack of transportation, I relied on a nurse who lived nearby.”
She says she was having a difficult birth, her baby was in critical condition and needed an incubator immediately. When they were rushed to the hospital, the child died.
Al-Hassan confirms that she no longer wants to have children and relies on contraception to avoid repeating the experience of pregnancy and childbirth inside the camps. He went on to say that his life in this tent is difficult as he does not have clean drinking water, water for bathing and food. They cannot provide for the needs of newborns as there is a severe shortage of personal hygiene items.
“Depression, anxiety, and overthinking rule my life, and I feel powerless for my three children who live in difficult conditions, but despite that, I try my best to take care of their hygiene and provide for their needs,” Al-Hassan. he says.
Dr. Ola Al-Qudour, a specialist in obstetrics and gynecology from the city of Idlib in northwestern Syria, talks about the suffering of pregnant women in camps in northern Syria.
“Thousands of Syrian pregnant women live in camps under difficult conditions, as most of them cannot provide food and medicine. Malnutrition leads to health problems that affect both the pregnant woman and the fetus and puts the mother at risk of low milk supply after giving birth, making her unable to breastfeed her child.
Al-Qudour points out that the lack of hospitals in the camps increases the suffering of pregnant women, which forces many cases to go outside, which ensures that displaced women live in tents made of cloth, and those who deliver to the hospital often return to the hospital. tent after only a few hours due to overcrowding in the hospital, knowing that the first 24 hours after giving birth are the most critical in terms of complications, so it is important to keep the mother in the hospital as long as possible.
He confirms that poor hygiene makes pregnant women more susceptible to colds due to reduced immunity, and that pregnant women who do not sleep enough can put them at risk of premature delivery and affect the development of the baby after delivery. to be born. He also points out that unsterilized home births increase the risk of infection for newborns and mothers.
The doctor emphasizes the need to provide health care to pregnant women and newborns in the camps, including regular medical examinations and early detection of any health problems, and providing the necessary care and nutrition to mothers during pregnancy, delivery, and after.
With the ongoing war and displacement, more than two million people are still living in camps in northwestern Syria, including 604,000 women.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) says “660 camps (44 percent of over 1,500 camps) in Idleb and northern Aleppo lack water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), affecting more than 907,000. Half of them are children.”
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