Give birth during the war: “I felt my flesh to get struck "
Gaza's women are experiencing abortions spontaneous, births without anesthesia, premature parts and deaths neonatal.
Of Iman Ashraf Al -Hajj Ali (*)
The difficult situation of future mothers is one heartbreaking subtitle of the greatest tragedy you are consuming in the Gaza strip. Within the enclave besieged, the sanctuary of the womb has become a field of battle where life in the flower waver on the brink of the abyss, threatened by the stress of the conflict, the spectrum of hunger and by the potential murder of the child's mother.
“
Numerous women have arrived in the hospital
death or dying, too late to be saved, together with theirs
children
“, He said to
New
Arab
The pediatrician of doctors without borders Tanya Haj-Hassan.
"
For some, however, we could make Caesarean cuts
post-moral
“, Saving at least one of the lives. Second
The
Lancet
, it is estimated that 183 women give birth to Gaza every day,
which 15% need medical care due to pregnancy or
of complications related to childbirth.
However almost 40% of
hospitals are destroyed or functioning only partially and almost two
third parties of the basic health care clinics are closed.
While hospitals are under pressure under the weight of the application
overwhelming and decreased resources, future mothers do
they are faced with a terrible dilemma: to give birth in the middle of the chaos
at home or risk the dangerous trip to seek assistance
medical. The corridors of the medical structures, once crowded,
Waiting overflows, now testify to the silent agony of
mothers who give birth among the rubble, their cries caught by
deafening thunder of the conflict. The tribute of the war extends
Beyond the physical kingdom, infiltrating the fabric of health itself
maternal: the emotional well -being of women.
Future mothers like
Aya Ahmad have to go on despite not knowing if theirs
child still lives in their womb, after the fetus is
suddenly calmed.
And Asmmaa Sendawi recently has
gave birth in the most precarious conditions. How the new will grow
child?
“ I gave birth to my baby in the middle of the night ",, Remember asthmaa. " It was too dangerous to walk on the street and We have tried many times to call an ambulance. In the end, We managed to take a cart pulled by donkeys. And there is wanted an hour to get to the nearest hospital that was Still working, at least a little. I barely made it “.
Women who experience complications during the
childbirth face serious dangers.
Khadija Ahmed, 29, is
finally remained pregnant after 10 years of exorbitant costs while
He tried the embryos transplant. Ardently desired the day
of birth and the moment when he could have embraced his
child. However, Khadija needed a cesarean cut and
There was no anesthesia.
Second
the
CNN
,
Anesthesia is among the articles most frequently refused for
The import to Gaza from Israel, together with crutches, fans,
X -ray machines and oxygen cylinders.
“ I could hear the knife pierced the layers of my stomach and hear the sound of my meat that yes he snatched. I can't even describe how it sounds; And comparable to anything else. I felt every time the needle me the skin punched and the thread was pulled through “.
Fortunately, Khadija passed out for pain, bringing some relief. His child survived and stands Well, but it is very anemic and exhausted. If they survive this test, Many new fears await her. The Lancet reports that many mothers They are discharged from the hospital within three hours of childbirth. " Me I am refugeing together with many displaced people in the curtains in Rafah, despite the rigid climate of winter “, Dice Noor Zakari. “ I am worried about the health of my newborn baby, because there are not enough clothes or covers “. “ Everything is fine day brings new horrors, new tragedies with it “, Reflect Tanya of doctors without borders, with a voice full of pain. " We are witnessing the systematic destruction of an entire generation, a generation robbed of hope, of innocence, of life itself “.
The surge of spontaneous abortions, of the parties premature and neonatal deaths testifies to the devastating impact of the war on the most vulnerable members of the company. Yet, the presence of a new life evokes a hope that trembles like one candle in the wind, a lighthouse of light in the midst of the darkness that Wrap Gaza. Faced with unimaginable adversities, the spirit indomitable of the mothers of Gaza survives, testifying to power lasting of the human spirit to persevere in more circumstances difficult. Among the streets of Gaza sprinkled with rubble, future moms they cling to the weakest glimmer of hope, their resilience It is a testimony of the lasting power of the human spirit of in front of impersencrutable adversity. In the darkest moments, theirs stories act as lighthouse of light, a reminder of the fact that also in Half of the chaos of the conflict, the human spirit remains intact.
(*) Adapted from We are not numbers .
Moms in 30 minutes
Of Maurizio Debanne - doctors Without borders
In 30 minutes, in Gaza, a woman who has given birth naturally must Leave his hospital bed to make room for the new ones parturient. When the waiting list is not long, the resignation They take place after 2 hours. For cesarean, women must leave The hospital after only 2 hours in the most chaotic days, but still never over 6. And this is because in Gaza only 13 of the 36 hospitals are still partially functioning. Every day, when I walk for go to the office, I do nothing but think about how much they can worth 30 minutes ...
The last thing from LOSE
Noor's mother -in -law has clear ideas: her nephew it must be called Salam, because never as today, in these parts, there is need for peace. But Noor hasn't decided yet, he is tired and pale. He needs to take iron and vitamin C. Noor is one of ours patients in a hospital in Rafah, as soon as he is better he will have to return to live in his plastic tent. His real home is in Jaballya, In the North, but today it is reduced to a pile of rubble.
Reham rests in the bed, neomamma of Another child who already has a name. "With this smile - he says showing the newborn face to one of ours doctor - It can only be called Amal (in Arabian hope), the hope - continues - encourages the Palestinians to go forward despite the indiscriminate attacks of this war" . But above all, hope, is the last thing that Reham wants to lose.
(*) Taken from Maurizio Debanne, Diary from Jerusalem .
Gaza: today to become Madri is a daily challenge
February 1, 2014. In Gaza for partorient women And their children is increasingly difficult to access medical care pre and post-Napali. In the Rafah area, the maternity hospital is The only structure left to assist pregnant women. To date to due to the continuous growth of the needs of the population and one lack of resources, the Rafah hospital is able to respond only to the most at risk and urgent parts. We are deeply worried about the growing lack of obstetric assistance for the Women in Gaza.
The number of parties to the hospital is tripled of Rafah
According to the World Health Organization, About 50,000 women are pregnant in Gaza, and around 20,000 children They were born since the beginning of the war, according to UNICEF.
Due to the ongoing humanitarian crisis - with i services Inaccessible primary healthcare and the impossibility of reach hospitals for lack of fuel as well as the poor ability of the health facilities still functioning - the pregnant women in Gaza did not have access to controls doctors for months. Many are forced to give birth in curtains of plastic or in public buildings. Who can give birth in a hospital, often returns to his luck refuge a few hours After making a cesarean birth.
“ With so many displaced people, the situation in Rafah is frightening. All spaces are overcrowded, With people who live in tents, schools and hospitals. The hospital Emiratin is currently facing the number of parts three times which I managed before the war "Says Pascale Coissard, MSF emergency coordinator in Gaza.
To reduce the risk of morbidity and mortality Among the mothers and babies, we support the hospital with assistance post-parto and we added 12 new beds to the department reaching a total capacity of 20 beds, thus allowing more patients receiving adequate monitoring after childbirth. However, without the right supplies and with the health system below Pressure many mothers are discharged only a few hours after childbirth. In some cases due to the difficulty of accessing the services of maternal health health, many pregnant women have not received No type of assistance since the beginning of the war and have not Made control visits.
The critical issues of prenatal and post-parto care
When pregnant women do not have adequate access medical care, enough food or appropriate refuge, Both their children are more exposed to health problems, including infections. The children of pregnant densetrite women or in breastfeeding are at immediate risk of health problems and potential deficiencies in long -term development. Over a third of patients looking for prenatal care suffers from anemia, one Critical condition for pregnant women. Also, almost half of These women had gastro-urinary infections, such as Urinary tract infections.
Rana Abu Hameida, 33 years old, was admitted to maternity department of the hospital in the sixth month of pregnancy a cause of complications, without ever having made any visit from the beginning of the conflict.
“ Since we were displaced, it was Difficult to find a way to go to the hospital and access health services. It is difficult to find a place for care or organize my life so that you can start checks again monthly. I live in a tent, life is hard, especially when You have to find food or water and sleep without an adequate bed " ,, DICE A HA is beautiful.
In the first week of January, ours
gynecologists and midwives have provided prenatal care to over 200
patients in the Al Shaboura clinic. In the post-parto care department
of the Emiratine hospital, in the first week of expansion of the
department, we received 170 patients.
What we try to
provide are: prenatal care, post-parto care, health support
mental, screening for malnutrition, therapeutic food
additional. However, without sufficient humanitarian aid in Gaza e
without the protection of the few health facilities still in
function, the supply of medical care will continue to be one
drop in the ocean.
We reiterate once again the
request
For a ceased the immediate and unconditional fire
And
we ask that the
health facilities
they are
protected
to save human lives.
It is necessary to restore
immediately the flow of humanitarian aid to Gaza and restore the
health system, on which the survival of mothers and children depends
of Gaza.
War Israel-Palestina: what it means to give birth at home in Gaza
Without electricity and equipment, a nurse He gives birth to his sister's child in the middle of the roar of a Israeli bombing
Of Maha Hosseini (*)
Gaza, Palestine occupied -11 December 2023
Using scissors generally used to cut paper, Plastic clothespins for the role and dim light of mobile phones, Nour Moeyn cut the umbilical cord of the nephew just born.
Under an intense Israeli bombing, they were not there neither equipment, nor electricity for the twenty -five nurse, while he was born the girl of his sister in the middle of the roars of air attacks and artillery. The nearest hospital It was open. But the family could not risk leaving the house in the heart of the night and go to the hospital, while the neighborhoods around They were under attack. In addition, hospitals and ambulances in Gaza they are crowded with Palestinians killed or injured in the attacks Israelis. Moeyn's sister, Aya, had no choice that gathering in the house of his family, where he had moved at the beginning of the war.
“ Around one in the morning, the pain of the Travaglio di Aya began, and it was so strong that he could not endure it. Within half an hour, the girl's head has started to emerge and we had to act immediately ”, Nada Nabeel, 31, says Aya's sister -in -law. " Not We couldn't even think of going to the hospital, because it would be a death sentence for Aya, the girl and all those who they had accompanied her. The bombings were intense and we could Feel the Israeli tanks to move in nearby areas .”
Although in the past Moeyn has witnessed
Numerous parts had never done it alone. "
But he decided
to proceed, otherwise his sister and the girl would have died
”,
Nabeel said.
One of the most basic problems, when yes
performs this procedure at home at night is the lack of
electricity.
Immediately after the Hamas attack of 7 October,
Israel has cut all electricity and fuel supplies
to the coastal enclave. Since then, the Palestinians have done
custody on the light of candles, on battery -powered LEDs and
on solar panels.
“ During the war we got used to Sit in the dark, sometimes with a small candle or a led light. But This time we could not rely on the light of the candles and, even if the batteries of our phone were about to discharge, We all turned on the torches on our cell phones to help Nour to see well , "Nabeel said.
Aya, her husband and their two children had
Leaving their house in Al-Rimal Street, in the center of Gaza
City, during the first week of war, and had refuge
in his family's house in the Al-Sahaba district, a
East. "
The sounds of the bombings were very strong, mixed
to the cries of Aya and the voices of his relatives and others
displaced people who prayed
" - Nabeel's tone, Sorella in Aya.
There
House has several floors and apartments, so the entire family
Allarrata was welcome.
During the times of
war, the families of Gaza tend to meet in a single place, in
Try for protection and comfort. There is a common desire to live
or die together.
Nabeel described the birth of the new
family member as something left from the screen of a film e
"
Beyond reality
”.
“ The women directed their torches to Aya And the out of the men prayed for his salvation. Everyone In the building, all the displaced people in all apartments were Wake up and repeated 'Ya rab, ya rab ’[In Arabic means oh, God], ". " The sounds of the bombings were very strong, mixed with the cries of Aya while fighting to give birth and the voices of his relatives and other displaced people who prayed and said to them to be strong and to resist. Everything was surreal. As much as he can describe the details, nobody can imagine the scene ”.
No medical equipment
According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, The Israeli army destroyed 52 medical structures and 56 ambulances in the Gaza strip, and killed at least 283 operators healthcare. So far about 18,000 Palestinians have been killed, the vast civilian majority. Aya's family did not expect who gave birth so soon, so no one had been agreed emergency plan. Without medical equipment, they had to use domestic objects they had at home. " The weather He was about to expire and feared for the life of the girl while Nour and Aya were struggling to get her out. The voices of the prayers and I kept my cell phone with the torch, I read the Koran and I was crying ", Nabeel continued.
“
A few minutes later, the girl is finally
Born and once out, Aya and everyone broke out in tears. AND
was a moment of relief for all of us. Nour hugged hard
Aya and kissed her on the forehead, and the displaced people applauded and
thanks God
"." Nabeel said they managed to
getting away with disinfected scissors and laundry clothespins, but when yes
It is treated of the placenta, there was nothing appropriate to
hand flow to extract it. "
Nour had to perform care
Postpartum with bare hands, cleaning Aya's uterus and extracting
manually the placenta. And luckily, he didn't have to cut part
of the vagina during childbirth, so it didn't need to
suture her
", he added. "
The next morning, they went
to the complex
[medico]
by Al-Sahaba to control health
of Aya and the girl, and thank God they were in perfect
conditions
.”
According to Dr. Adan Radi, obstetric and
Gynecologist of the Al-Awda hospital in the north of the Gaza Strip,
There are about 55,000 pregnant women in Gaza who need to
regular health care.
“
We called the
small mass
[diamond, in Arabic]
Why the conditions in
which was born were unusual, but also because it is precious and stubborn
”,
Nabeel said. "
Insisted on being born, in the middle of all
adverse circumstances
.”
(*) Source:
English
version
. Italian version taken from
Invictapalestina.org
.
Translation
by Grazia Parolari “All sentient beings are morally
the same".
Images
:
1) a newborn
At the hospital at Shifa in Gaza, 26 October 2023. Photo by © ️ Bisan
Owda for UNFPA. Image taken from the site of
We
are not numbers
.
2-3) image taken from the site of
Doctors
Without borders
.
4) A Palestinian woman, IMAN, holds in
arm his newly born twins in Khan Youunis, in the south of the
Gaza Strip, November 2 (Reuters)
5) A pregnant woman of
Eight months in Rafah, in the south of the Gaza Strip, on 10 November
(AFP).