Gaza’s pregnant women, nursing mums suffer amid war

United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) said on Monday that about 50,000 pregnant women in Gaza, expecting 10 percent of them to give birth in the upcoming month.

‘Have nowhere to go, there is nowhere safe”, said Dominic Allen, the UNPFA’s top official for the Palestinian territories.

He explained that, due to the constant bombardment, many are unable to get to hospitals and are forced to give birth at home, receiving guidance from doctors or midwives over the phone, if the phone lines are working.

Allen added this along with the absence of food, clean water, electricity, or fuel necessary for the operation of incubators and intensive care units, and with a health system that is “battered and on the verge of collapse.”

Moreover, the doctors are obliged “to work without anesthesia,” neither the mothers nor the newborns are receiving the care they need, he continued. 

Besides that, mothers who are breastfeeding are advised to drink at least three litres (over six pints) of water per day and maintain a healthy diet to ensure adequate milk production. However, in Gaza, the daily struggle to find clean water and food is becoming harder. 

Numerous new mothers in Gaza are gripped by fear of the worst possible outcomes, feeling helpless and unable to keep their children safe.