That day was November 2023, about a month into the war in Gaza. Ala’a is among the estimated 155,000 pregnant women and new mothers in the Gaza Strip who in the past year have been forced to give birth under fire, in tents, while fleeing bombs and often without aid, medicine or even clean water.
“The sound of rockets and bombs was more than my joy, but I decided that with my little child, we will overcome all difficulties,” she wrote in a letter thanking the tireless health workers who helped her deliver her child at the field hospital. in Khan Younis.
“We will survive whatever happens.”
UNFPA
A letter from a mother in Gaza.
It’s a dire situation
The situation of pregnant women in Gaza is dire: They are exhausted, weak from hunger, with health services almost destroyed and not a single hospital fully functioning, they have few places to turn for care and treatment.
After hundreds of attacks on medical facilities, 17 out of 36 hospitals are still partially operational.
Fuel and supplies are also running dangerously short, health workers are being killed or forced to flee and those left are dwindling as the rest of Gaza faces an increase in injuries, illness and disease, including the first case of polio in more than 25 years.
Migration risks
More than 500,000 women in Gaza have lost access to essential services such as prenatal care, family planning and medical treatment. Among them, more than 17,000 pregnant women are on the brink of starvation.
“After seven months, I was forced to leave my home and live in a tent,” Ala’a continued in his book. “I cried a lot, I feel that my brave child will not see the walls of his room that I always dreamed of preparing for him.”
But, his grief did not end there, as he was soon released again.
“It was a cry from the bottom of my heart [that I had] giving birth at home,” Ala’a wrote. “After 50 days I ran away from the fire, running, screaming and crying because of the bombs. At that time, I was afraid that I might lose my child.”
Some 1.9 million people are currently displaced in Gaza, many of whom have been forced to relocate several times in the past year. Since the start of the war, miscarriages, obstetric complications, low birth weight and premature births have reportedly increased dramatically, largely due to stress, malnutrition and a lack of maternity services.
Recalling his time fleeing the bombings, Ala’a wrote, “Here we are, starting from nothing – no shelter, no home, not even an end. We built the tent again, we promised each other that we must survive no matter what happens.”
A spark of light
“Two weeks later I felt pains… They were labor pains! [I thought] ‘No. It’s still early, I want to give birth at home.’
After four days of labor, Ala’a visited the hospital in Khan Younis run by UK-Med, a non-governmental charity (NGO) with a special maternity unit supported by the United Kingdom and the UN’s sexual and reproductive health agency. of health, UNFPA.
“I came for a check-up and everything was fine,” he continued. “The midwife and nurses were kind and warm. I spoke with Dr. Helen, and encouraged me to come and give birth there.”
When the time came, they made sure that Ala’a delivered her child safely.
“I went to the hospital at two o’clock in the morning when the midwives were ready. But, they told me that there was no way to give birth naturally, it was too dangerous.”
UNFPA provides the hospital’s maternity unit with reproductive health services and facilities and ensures that staff can provide comprehensive care, including obstetric emergencies.
Ala’a and her newborn Mohammad are recovering well, despite the ongoing war and lack of clean water, food or security.
“It was the best decision to come here to give birth,” she wrote. “I like that they always smile even though they are under pressure. They are a great team.”
Health care is on 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 prenatal and postnatal care, family planning and medical treatment; more than 17,000 pregnant women are in severe stages of hunger.
UNFPA and partners are committed to providing reproductive health support, distributing life-saving medicines, medical equipment and supplies and deploying teams of midwives and health workers to both formal and temporary camps.
Six mobile maternal health centers have been established in hospitals to deliver emergency obstetric care to mothers and their newborns wherever they are. But it is impossible to provide continued support without a cessation of hostilities, full access to health services and continued funding.
Despite all the hardships he has endured, Ala’a refuses to give up.
“From Mohammad, my son, thank you for everything,” he wrote, thanking the hospital staff.
“Thank you for everything. I hope we will meet again in better times.”
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