Pregnancy, Childbirth, and Breastfeeding in Times of War: How Mothers in Gaza Fight to Keep their Children Alive
Gaza Strip – Occupied Palestinian Territory- Raneen Hatem Al-Farra never imagined that her journey into motherhood would begin with loss. As she was preparing to welcome her first daughter, the war on Gaza, which has continued since October 2023, had already taken her home, claimed the life of her son, and left her husband seriously ill without access to the medical treatment he desperately needed. Amid repeated displacement, hunger, and the collapse of the healthcare system, the days blurred into one another. Pregnancy no longer carried the joy and anticipation that women usually associate with bringing a child into the world. Instead, it became a daily struggle for survival.
"I suffered greatly during this war," Raneen says. "Everything has changed." Raneen was pregnant when the war intensified. As the siege tightened, food became increasingly scarce, healthcare services collapsed, and she began suffering from malnutrition, anemia, and repeated health complications. Vitamins, nutritious food, and even routine antenatal care were no longer available. Reaching a health centre required travelling long distances through destroyed roads with little or no transportation.
Every day, mothers across Gaza ask themselves the same question: "Will we survive together?" Raneen feared less for herself than for the baby growing inside her. After enduring ten days of labour, she gave birth under circumstances no mother should ever experience. There was no ambulances. When her family called for help, they were told that ambulances were only responding to people injured in attacks. Recalling those moments, Raneen says: "I had to travel to the hospital on a horse-drawn cart while I was in labour."
In Gaza, childbirth is no longer simply the beginning of a new life. It has become another battle women must fight in the midst of an escalating humanitarian crisis. But giving birth did not end Raneen's struggle. A new journey began, one centred on securing the most basic necessities for herself and her newborn. Finding enough food became a daily challenge. Raneen often endured hunger and thirst so that she could continue breastfeeding her daughter.
Women across Gaza have been forced to develop countless ways of rationing food, water, and essential supplies to make them last as long as possible. Describing her experience, Raneen says: “If we had just one kilogram of flour, we would knead it and divide it into small loaves to feed the children throughout the day. My daughter depended entirely on breastfeeding, but there was no food for me."
Diapers became another impossible challenge. As prices soared and supplies disappeared, Raneen devised painful alternatives to care for her baby. "If I managed to buy diapers, I would place sanitary pads inside them so they could last longer. If I couldn't find diapers, I used black plastic bags with pieces of cloth."
Baby clothes were no longer purchased but passed from one displaced family to another. Every tiny outfit carried the story of another child. Raneen explains: "When one woman gave birth, we would prepare a small bag of baby clothes for her. Once her baby outgrew them, she passed them on to another mother. But when several women gave birth at the same time, there simply weren't enough clothes."
Inside the tent where she now lives, life remains harsh. After nearly two years of exposure to rain, scorching summer heat, winter cold, humidity, wind, and sand, the tent has deteriorated and no longer provides adequate shelter for a family trying to rebuild their lives. Raneen describes their daily reality: "When it rains, everything gets wet. The tents are torn, our clothes are worn out, and we have very few blankets."
Despite discussions of a ceasefire, little has changed for mothers in Gaza. Clean water remains scarce. Food is still difficult to obtain. Medicines are almost impossible to find. Raneen says:"Nothing has changed. People say everything is available now, but it isn't. There is no water, no food, and no medicine."
The psychological burden weighs just as heavily. Fear never leaves her. Every night, she wakes repeatedly to make sure her baby is still breathing. In words that echo the anguish of thousands of mothers, she says: "I stay awake all night checking on her because so many children have died from the cold."
Amid these devastating circumstances, local women-led organizations continue working to keep hope alive. Through the Wefaq Society for Women and Child Care, ActionAid Palestine's local partner, Raneen received emergency assistance, including a mattress, alongside psychosocial support that helped her cope with trauma and grief. She says: “the psychological support was more important than anything else. It helped me continue."
In a context where homes, livelihoods, and healthcare facilities have been devastated by war, mental health support is no longer a luxury—it is an essential lifeline for women and their children.
Today, Raneen does not ask for much. She simply hopes her daughter can grow up somewhere safe, with clean water to drink, enough food to eat, warm clothes to protect her from the cold, and access to healthcare whenever she needs it. Above all, she hopes the war will end. Raneen says: "We hope our children can have clean water, clean clothes, and clean food. More than anything, we hope the war will end."
Raneen's story is not unique. It reflects the reality facing thousands of mothers across the Gaza Strip, where pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding, and motherhood have become daily acts of resilience amid displacement, hunger, the collapse of healthcare services, and an ongoing humanitarian catastrophe.
Behind every statistic on casualties or displacement is a mother like Raneen, spending sleepless nights protecting her child and waking each morning determined to give her children another reason to hold on to life.
In Gaza today, motherhood has become an act of resistance, and every birth is a powerful affirmation that life endures despite war, loss, and deprivation.
About ActionAid International
ActionAid International is a global federation working with over 41 million people living in more than 72 of the world's poorest countries. We envision a world characterized by justice and sustainability, where every individual has the right to a dignified life and freedom, and a world free from poverty and oppression. We strive to achieve social justice, gender equality, and eradicate poverty.
ActionAid Palestine began its work in Palestine in 2007 to strengthen the resilience of the Palestinian people, believing in their right to enjoy freedom, justice, and self-determination. ActionAid Palestine implements several programs through its engagement with Palestinian communities and youth and women’s groups, aiming to empower women and youth and enhance their active civil and political participation to understand their rights and undertake collective action to address the rights violations resulting from the prolonged occupation, in addition to improving their leadership capacity and practicing their citizenship in holding authorities and other duty bearers accountable.
For more information, please contact:
Riham Jafari
Communication and Advocacy Officer at ActionAid Palestine
Email: Riham.Jafari@actionaid.org