Miscarriage Rate High Among Women in Gaza
One worker at the Palestinian Family Planning and Protection Association lost her pregnancy after the stress of fleeing bombings six separate times
As the war in Gaza nears its 10th month, civilians in the Palestinian enclave face chaos and constant violence. The struggle for survival is especially acute for pregnant women, and doctors in Gaza are reporting a surging miscarriage rate, driven by ongoing violence, acute malnutrition, and lack of access to health care.
We are seeing this increase in miscarriages because the first three months of pregnancy are the most important and women are not able to access medical centers
“We are seeing this increase in miscarriages because the first three months of pregnancy are the most important and women are not able to access medical centers,” Nahed Abu Iyada, the field officer for CARE International’s health program, told The Media Line. “With the lack of medical services, if there is any problem, it goes beyond these women’s control and they will probably lose the baby.”
A World Health Organization report published in July decried the “continued dismantling of the health system, reducing health service availability, and threatening the right to health of over 2.1 million people in the Gaza Strip.”
Access to health care is also affected by the closure of the Rafah border crossing to Egypt. Since the Israeli military captured the Gazan side of the border crossing in May, many Palestinians in need of outside medical care have been stuck in Gaza.
Official numbers on miscarriages in Gaza are not available, a fact that a UN representative attributed to the scale of the destruction. “Having said that, unvalidated reports from some health facilities and anecdotes from doctors and midwives indicate a significant rise in miscarriages,” the representative told The Media Line. Some doctors have said that around 10 women a day now experience miscarriage in Gaza, up from one or two each day last year.
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The Palestinian Family Planning and Protection Association estimated last month that miscarriages had risen at least 300% since October last year. The organization said that one worker had to flee six temporary dwellings following bombings and ultimately lost her pregnancy as a result of the stress.
With the remaining health centers in Gaza under constant threat, some women in Gaza no longer even attempt to access medical care, Abu Iyada said. “These women know that even if they get transportation to the medical center, they will have to wait in the sun or in the clinic itself, so many prefer not to take the risk and do not go to medical checkups,” she explained.
Abu Iyada said that many women who seek medical treatment for a miscarriage are suffering from pain brought on by a lack of proper hygiene.
They have been living with attacks here and there around them for months, their mental health is not stable and, sometimes, they do not receive support from their husbands and family
She noted that many of the miscarriages are due to psychological stress. “They have been living with attacks here and there around them for months, their mental health is not stable and, sometimes, they do not receive support from their husbands and family,” she said. Lack of proper psychological care in Gaza also means that women who have lost their pregnancies don’t have access to support.
The World Health Organization estimated in July that 50,000 women in Gaza are pregnant and that 180 women in Gaza give birth each day. “More than 500,000 women in the reproductive age are lacking access to essential services including antenatal care, postnatal care, family planning, and management of sexual transmitted infections,” the report noted.
Even a woman who carries her pregnancy to term may be too malnourished to breastfeed her child. At least 34 children in Gaza have died of malnutrition since the start of the war, Gaza’s Ministry of Health reported in June.
Going through a miscarriage in these very hard circumstances will affect their health and it can help to provoke more diseases
For women who do lose their pregnancies, the challenges may not end there. “Going through a miscarriage in these very hard circumstances will affect their health and it can help to provoke more diseases,” Abu Iyada said. “Plus, it might impact their ability to have another baby in the future.”
