Pregnant women in the Gaza Strip are living a catastrophic health reality, as the ongoing siege and severe food shortages have led to a significant increase in miscarriage rates and fetal loss within displacement centers and the remaining hospitals. This crisis is exacerbated by the declining capacity of the medical system to provide necessary care, leaving thousands of mothers directly facing the risk of death or loss of newborns due to severe anemia and lack of essential nutrients.
Field sources reported that many pregnant women suffer from a sharp drop in hemoglobin levels, with some cases recording blood levels as low as 9 degrees in the seventh month of pregnancy. These women face extreme difficulties in securing essential nutritional supplements such as folic acid and iron, the acquisition of which now requires strenuous physical effort and standing in long queues that are incompatible with their critical health condition.
In a painful testimony reflecting the scale of the tragedy, one woman was forced to go directly from the operating table after suffering a miscarriage to food distribution points known as 'Al-Tekiya' to secure a meal for her other children. These testimonies confirm that hunger is not just a lack of meals, but a direct factor in the cessation of fetal growth and death within the womb, given the inability of hospitals to accommodate the increasing number of high-risk pregnancies.
In addition to malnutrition, strenuous physical exertion emerges as another major cause of miscarriage, as displaced women are forced to carry heavy water containers and transport them long distances on foot. This muscular fatigue is coupled with the consumption of contaminated and unsafe drinking water, leading to the spread of intestinal diseases and infections that multiply the chances of fetal loss in the absence of necessary medications and painkillers.
Reports indicate that repeated displacement and the constant state of fear resulting from ongoing military operations have deeply affected the psychological and physical well-being of mothers. The combination of food insecurity, an unhealthy living environment in tents, and immense psychological pressure has created a life-repelling environment that threatens an entire generation of newborns in the besieged Strip.
I lost my fetus due to lack of food and drinking contaminated water, and we are forced to walk long distances and carry containers to provide drinking water for our children.
שתף את דעתך
From Operating Rooms to Relief Queues: The Tragedy of Pregnant Women in Gaza Under Siege