Giving birth amid Gaza’s devastation is traumatic, but babies continue to be born

Despite severe destruction and lack of resources in Gaza, babies continue to be born in precarious and traumatic circumstances.

The human story: Raneem Hejazi, eight months pregnant, survived an Israeli airstrike that killed seven members of her family.
* With her arm crushed, legs broken and burned, Raneem was rushed to the overcrowded Nasser Hospital.
* Despite no electricity, Dr. Mohammad Qandeel performed an emergency caesarean in the cellphone-lit operating room under which Raneem’s daughter Mariam was born.

Contextual backdrop: Pregnant women and newborns are facing extreme adversity in Gaza.
* Amid airstrikes, pregnant women are trying to find safe places to stay, dodging bombs and under the endless stress of worrying about whether they will be able to give birth in a safe environment.
* Hospitals, overwhelmed with people injured from airstrikes, are telling women they can’t receive care unless they are fully dilated and ready to deliver, and their stay will be short.
* New mothers are dealing with immediate post-birth challenges like lack of clothes for babies and unhygienic water, severely impacting breastfeeding.

The scale of crisis: There is a large number of pregnant women facing these extreme adversities.
* The U.N. Population Fund’s representative in East Jerusalem, Dominic Allen highlighted that there are around 50,000 pregnant women in Gaza right now, with multiple struggling to find safe places.

The infrastructure challenge: Lack of resources and electricity hampers communication and assistance efforts.
* Hospitals are running without sufficient water or electricity.
* Aid initiatives, like helplines and medical supplies distribution by the U.N., face impediments due to lack of electricity and internet.
* Borders are closed, preventing the transfer of severely injured patients to Egypt for better care.

View original article on NPR

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