The dire conditions of pregnant women in Gaza

According to the latest report from the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), Palestinians in the enclave are facing a shortage of food, shelter items, and water amidst deteriorating sanitation and hygiene conditions.

According to the report, 72 percent of women face difficulty in accessing their needs. The agency warned that food insecurity and malnutrition are increasing at alarming rates, with around 345,000 people across Gaza, including 38,000 adolescent girls and 8,000 pregnant women, suffering famine-like conditions.

With cases of maternal deaths, miscarriages, preterm births, and low birth weight on the rise due to Israel's unrelenting attacks on Gaza's healthcare system, pregnant women are particularly at risk.

Only 17 out of 36 hospitals are partially operational, with 84 percent of healthcare facilities destroyed, according to the UNFPA report.  

In northern Gaza, where Israel has imposed a siege since the beginning of October, the last major medical facility offering maternal and newborn care, Kamal Adwan Hospital, is besieged by the Israeli army.

Due to the hospital's damage, pregnant women are finding it difficult to get much-needed care, and several newborns have perished because there aren't enough incubators, electricity, or medical supplies.

"I was not ready for childbirth. We are very tired," Jawaher, a displaced woman who fled north Gaza, told. She was in labour for two days whilst looking for shelter before reaching al-Sahaba Hospital to give birth.

The constant Israeli bombing in Gaza has made safe pregnancies and deliveries completely impossible. According to the International Rescue Committee, at least 155,000 pregnant or nursing mothers in Gaza were at high risk of malnutrition in December 2023, just three months into the conflict.

Women previously interviewed by media indicate hardships in not only the labour process but also in taking care of their newborn children. 

"I never imagined I would give birth to my first child away from home and surrounded by air strikes," Israa, a young mother, told. "The place where I gave birth was without any forms of sanitation and hygiene. Yet, I couldn't blame the hospital as the pressures inflicted on doctors and nurses were beyond their abilities."