The boom was reflected in an increase in the number of births in the Gaza Strip Gaza negatively on the reproductive health index for women, and women are negatively affected by the difficult life conditions, as many of them are unable to provide food And medication, while others fall into crises of risk of pregnancy, childbearing and motherhood as a result of early marriage.
The concept of reproductive health is linked, according to WHO global health, with the health care carried out by women of childbearing age, including treatment, food, and care before and after pregnancy, and it is no longer limited to the idea of family planning only. The Director of the Department of Mother and Child Health in the Ministry of Health, Nahla Helles, says that this definition is the one approved in the sector, and we are working to implement its provisions.
Few health services and centers
The concept of reproductive health is not limited to the idea of family planning, making women affected by the social, economic and political situation in Gaza, and in the Gaza Strip society, women are facing difficult physical and psychological responsibilities that are not commensurate with their requirements to provide the minimum requirements for normal health.
Reproductive health services provided in Gaza include family planning, care for women before, during and after pregnancy, as well as access to contraceptives and family planning, management of complications from abortions, and care for newborns. With the Palestinian Ministry of Health in providing health services for women.
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Helles explains that these services are provided in 49 health clinics spread across all Gaza governorates, 27 of which belong to the Ministry of Health (a government agency), and 22 to UNRWA (a UN organization), but the medical official did not confirm whether these centers were sufficient to reach all women. in the sector or not.
In fact, 49 health centers for reproductive care services in Gaza are a small number, as women constitute about half of the society, while there are 18,000 pregnant women annually. Helles indicates that the ministry studies the regions annually to determine the extent of the need to open a health center, but the matter is complicated, as It needs human cadres, tools and various needs, as well as financial costs.
The small number of health centers reflected on the reality of women’s reproductive health in Gaza, as data from the World Health Organization indicate that eight percent of all women of reproductive age (15 to 49 years) died during childbirth, while about 45 percent suffer from anemia. During and after pregnancy, the risk of pregnancy reached 32 percent among all pregnant women.
Women are affected by the conditions of society
Helles says, “These factors are affected by the poor economic, psychological and social conditions of women, in addition to the increase in obesity, lack of proper nutrition as a result of poverty, and lack of attention to risk factors and heredity. Women are also exposed to constant stress, psychological pressure and family violence, which affects hormones, and leads to a lack of fetus growth. Naturally, and abortion may occur, so we provide sufficient quantities of iron, folic acid and vitamins for pregnant women in order to compensate and try to keep the pregnancy healthy without reaching the stage of danger, in addition to education and follow-up sessions, and conducting all examinations for the mother after birth, with vaccinating her child. .
In fact, Gaza is experiencing complex crises, as the Strip suffers from a severe economic decline, and the rate of extreme poverty has reached 54 percent, while the per capita income has reached $7 per day, and food insecurity indicators have reached 82 percent among families, after increasing Unemployment reached 71 percent. According to the data of the Palestinian Statistics Authority.
These indicators prompted women to avoid pregnancy, and the data of the same apparatus indicates that the number of women of childbearing age (15-49) has reached more than 40 thousand women in Gaza, with a fertility rate of four births per woman, explains Faryal Thabet, Director of the Women’s Health Center in the Association. Culture and Thought” (a non-governmental organization), that this rate decreased from five children per woman in 2018, due to the economic deterioration, women feel that their husbands are unable to support the children.
bad indicator
Thabet reports that 70 percent (more than 15,000 annually) of women use family planning methods and want to space out pregnancy from the next, and 10 percent do not want to have children. It clarifies that the reproductive health index for women is not good, as 13% of women have unmet needs for family planning, in addition to the presence of about 5% of pregnant women who did not receive any health care at all during and after pregnancy, which explains the lack of coverage by the Ministry of Health and the Agency. UNRWA provides all women’s reproductive health needs.
The phenomenon of early marriage in Gaza has not disappeared, which poses risks to mothers during pregnancy, which negatively affects reproductive health. The official in charge of maternal and child health in the Ministry of Health explains that four percent of pregnancies of young girls are dangerous, and they may eventually miscarry, or premature birth or caesarean section (the rate increased from 29 percent in 2021).
For his part, the representative of the United Nations Fund in the Gaza Strip, Sami Abu Aita, says that they provide projects that help improve reproductive health in the Gaza Strip, most notably equipping 12 hospitals for the same purpose, noting that they played an important role in spreading health awareness.