Pregnancy during the war — real stories from women
Life never stops. And even in the most extreme situations, people continue to love, have sex and have children. These stories are proof of that.
Contents of the article:
Israel and Palestine
The year 2009 was at the height of the clashes between Israelis and Palestinians in the Garden. It was hard for everyone, but it was even worse for pregnant women — they had to sacrifice both their own lives and the lives of the children they carried under their hearts.
Caught up in the conflict, the country experienced instability and infrastructure was destroyed. But brave obstetricians continued to do their duty and did everything to help surprisingly vulnerable pregnant women. One of these heroic figures was midwife Fiza Shlaim. Cephas was one of her patients.
Keefa had already lost a child in the past and was very afraid of repeating the sad experience. She was afraid of possible complications during childbirth. She understood that in such a situation it would be very difficult to get to the nearest hospital. But what was the timing of its release?
It was 11. 30 pm. Tanks invaded our area and bombed the bridge. I started struggling, there was no way to get to the hospital,” recalls Kifa. Fortunately, an emergency medical care center was nearby — Fiza Shlaim opened it in her own home.
She told me to push and then the head appeared. Then the baby was born and started crying. Then there was a second explosion and I jumped out of bed,” Keefa says.
It was a boy. Fortunately, the birth went without complications, and Cephas”s son was born healthy. Over the next three weeks, 52 more babies were born. And all this is thanks to Fiza.
Yemen
In Yemen, the conflict began in 2004 — between the Shiites (rebels living in the north of the country) and the alliance of the Yemeni and US authorities. In 2009, a confrontation broke out between Shiites and Yemeni and Saudi forces.
The ceasefire ended in 2010. A year later, fighting began again in Yemen, and 2014 saw the start of civil war.
Despite all this, civilians continued to live and give birth to children. Feeling like a worried Yemeni mother, these four women said (interview date 2018):
Yusra was forced to leave her home and fled to the city of Kodida. Here”s what she told us about her horrific experience:
Sometimes I feel like I can”t breathe. I”m very scared. This pregnancy is especially difficult due to the crisis and war. I don”t know what will happen. I don”t want to give birth in a hospital because I”m afraid. Hospitals are not safe. Sometimes they are targets.
I”m afraid that something will happen to my child. I”m afraid of war. I want her to stop. I want to go home. I don”t want to stay in the hospital and fear for myself and my child. The hospital is too close to the war zone.
This is not my first pregnancy, I already have two daughters, but this time they suffer from anemia. It didn”t happen to me, I didn”t expect it.
I asked the doctor if I could stay in the hospital. Can I leave after treatment? The doctor refused my request, but I decided to go home. I want to feel safe. This is the most important thing, even more important than food. I can stand hunger.
We have no money and no access to food. We eat when we can. At home I can call a midwife, but the problem is money — I can’t afford it.
We are now in a very difficult situation. My husband used to work in a food factory that is now closed due to hostility.
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Now we are losing our income.”
Aman got married at the age of 15, but she never went to school. At the time of the interview, the girl was nine months pregnant. She is originally from Hodeidah and the neighboring Al-Sharif region. Here”s her story:
Honestly, I don”t know if I”m happy about my pregnancy. I don’t know how to explain my feelings about raising a child during the war. It”s difficult.
I don”t know if someone else is doing this in terms of us living with a child — I don”t know if I”m happy about it or not. During pregnancy, my baby developed lampus — this leads to high blood pressure, causing seizures and sleep com, putting both mother and baby at risk. This was the first time I learned about this phenomenon; it occurs very often in the world.
Now I have to have a caesarean section. This is my first child. Now I”m afraid for myself and for him. It”s scary because I”m far from my family.
I have no money. Only the most necessary food and water that we have at our disposal. We don”t have access to fruits and vegetables. Everything is the smallest survival kit.”
Salva has no home. This is the second time in her life that she has lost a place to return to. First she fled from Harad, and now she had to flee due to hostility in Kodeida.
There were four miscarriages. I was taken from my home to Al Monir Hospital, but without anesthesia. Then this morning I was transferred to Al Taurus Hospital in Kodeida. I thank God that I gave birth safely and my child will be saved.
I was afraid that I would have a miscarriage again. My husband and I have different blood types. I needed injections, but I didn”t know it. And that was important. But we didn”t have money, I couldn”t afford it.
9 months in 2 minutes: what happens to a woman’s body during pregnancy?
I”m afraid when I have to go back. When I ran this time, I had nothing. But my baby was born safe and I am still happy.
I suffer from acute anemia, but the hospital could not help me, they could not give me a blood transfusion, because they did not have blood supplies. Because of the war, we lost our lives, relatives, clothes and everything else. I don”t know if anyone is thinking about us, but I hope the war will end soon.
I want my children and all children in Yemen to live in peace. I want my son to become a doctor or a teacher. And I want to return to my homeland.”
HUD lives in Bayer, Hodeidah. On the day of the interview, she had a caesarean section.
I had already lost three children before this. My pregnancy isn”t progressing like it should. I feel wild pains in my arms and legs. For three months I could not move them normally. My family couldn”t take me to the hospital because of the war. And we didn”t have the money for it. But now the main thing is my children.
We have no money. I don”t eat well, but it doesn”t bother me. I am afraid that I will lose this child, like the previous one. I want him to survive.
I”m scared, but the pain is getting worse and worse. Still, I”m happy to be pregnant. I want to become a mother.”
Pregnancy and war
When you read the story of a woman who decided to give birth to a child during the war, you involuntarily begin to ask questions. Why aren”t they afraid? No, wait, they themselves admit that they are held back by fear of the future — their own children. They don”t have access to good food or good clinics. Why are they doing this?
We”re not talking about women who become pregnant against their will as a result of sexual violence, military operations, or sexual assault. We”re talking about women who consciously choose to celebrate the joy of bringing someone new into this world. What motivates them?
Robert Behrend is a sexologist. And when asked, “Why do women conceive and give birth during war?” he answers, “Because people have sex, just like in the few places where there”s no war. Sex is free, fun, and stress reliever. And not everyone has access to contraception. That”s how pregnancy and childbirth happen.
Sex is free, throats are slit, and bombs help people sleep.” This is also confirmed by Anjali Sun, head of the United Nations Population Fund (YUNFP) in Yemen, who says: “Women are not allowed to have children until the situation stabilizes.
However, women refuse to have children until the situation stabilizes, while their husbands have a different point of view. Take a real mind from Yemen. She is the mother of four sons, longed for a daughter, and was happy when she became pregnant. However, it ended in a miscarriage.
Her husband, Walid, dreams of having ten more children, but she is seriously insecure. “And if living conditions are better, I can barely feed my four sons, how can I care for another soul?
Men like my husband don”t understand the pain women go through. They don”t care how many times we give birth. But I have hope. We all want a better future.”
Changes in a woman”s body during pregnancy and childbirth.
