Pregnant women in Gaza 'frightened' as dangers around childbirth grow

[cloudypillow]

Amid a deadly war in Gaza, new lives begin. But newborn babies and those still in the womb are among the worst hit by the harsh conditions.

With acute shortages of food, the UN says that one in 10 new babies is underweight or premature. There has also been an increase in miscarriages, stillbirths and congenital abnormalities.

Many mothers are struggling to breastfeed because of their own poor health.

At Nasser Hospital in the southern city of Khan Younis, Malak Brees, now seven months pregnant, did not expect to conceive her second child. Six weeks ago, she lost a lot of amniotic fluid, putting her baby in danger.

"The doctors told me it was due to malnutrition and exhaustion... They told me it was in the hands of God - the foetus could survive or die."
While poor nutrition is causing new hazards in pregnancy, childbirth too has become far riskier.

Sometimes Israeli military action and displacement mean that women are giving birth in their tents or shelters with no medical help.

"If mothers are lucky enough to come to the hospitals to deliver their babies, women who give birth vaginally are typically being sent home three to four hours afterwards," says Sandra Adler Killen, an American registered emergency and paediatric nurse, who recently worked at the hospital in Gaza.

Rather than representing the hope of new life, babies have come to epitomise the struggle to survive.

More: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c626ljrp21yo

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/cvg5vyp33j1t

You STILL believe all of that? Really?

That Hamas is still holding hostages is a fact. That they have not disarmed and surrendered is a fact. That they have hoarded and sold aid in the past is a fact, though we don't know the extent of it recently as far as I can tell.

The cognitive dissonance about the instigator of this war (Hamas) is quite a thing to behold isn’t it?

They keep on going on about 1948 but seem to conveniently forget 2023.

Very true.

Very poor countries or countries with conflict appear to have high birth rates.

Its mind blowing.

Some context - as far as I can tell a premature birth rate of around 10% is consistent with the global average. In many parts of south Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa the rate is around 12-16%. Any impacts of maternal and infant health in wars are of course awful and nobody is denying that.

It's very strange.

As is the attempt to make it seem wrong to even mention October 7th because apparently that is to be mocked as a "But Hamas..." predictable trope.

I don't think any medication including contraception is available since the blockade commenced? British medics have stated that no new medicine etc has come in and they're using whatever is left. I would assume this include contraception.
Also a lot of hormonal contraception relies on no tummy upsets and given that a lot of water in Gaza is contaminated I'd say tummy upsets are common.
I saw an Instagram post from a US/Tanzanian nurse who said that sanitary protection is impossible to find now, some are reduced to reusing rags which they must wash in contaminated water leading to an upsurge in horrendous UTIs and there is a shortage of suitable antibiotics.

God help those women.

I was thinking more of condoms. But obviously that relies on the men in a highly patriarchal society to use them.

Other reasons

Rape
Maybe in situations like this the urge to reproduce to maintain the population intensifies.

It's appalling from every angle. The young Jewish women raped, kidnapped and desecrated and this awful situation too.

I'm not sure how much choice women have in conceiving during the last two years. While it's tempting to think "who aims to get pregnant in a war zone" lots of women. Even in peace time marital rape is not a crime. There is also often a desire for sex as a bonding experience if your survive a disaster or traumatic situation. So women may not have consented to sex or pregnancy and those who did consent to sex may not have considered the possibility of pregnancy especially under stress which might affect their menstrual cycle as well as being malnourished. Abortions are also illegal on Gaza unless to save the woman's life and I doubt it's easy to obtain a illicit one right now even if women could before Israel's invasion . Contraceptives also required a husband's consent when such clinics were running and this was sometimes enforced by a woman's mother in law accompanying her to the clinical appointment
shado-mag.com/articles/act/the-weaponisation-of-reproductive-injustice-in-palestine/

I feel deeply sorry for any woman who is pregnant or recently delivered who is facing bombing or unable to access medical care. It's a war not of their making and they and their babies are paying the highest prices

That is all utterly utterly horrific.

Not much change then when Trump sends in his people to build the Gazan Riviera.

Those seeking abortion might get a better deal at Israéli hospitals. Might. Possibly.