‘First coronavirus, now this,’ says mom who gave birth under Gaza rockets

As she was giving birth, the sirens blasted several times. The vast majority of the hospital is a secured structure, allowing doctors to continue their work, but the experience was still challenging.

A new mother at Samson Assuta Medical Center in Ashdod on May 12, 2021. (photo credit: Courtesy)
A new mother at Samson Assuta Medical Center in Ashdod on May 12, 2021.
(photo credit: Courtesy)
 After a difficult pregnancy during the coronavirus pandemic, for many women who are giving birth under the rocket attacks from Gaza, the situation represents a new source of stress.
“We were just leaving corona behind and being pregnant during corona was also not simple. Now we moved from fear to fear,” Yifat, a 37-year-old from Gad Yvane, who had her baby girl at the Samson Assuta Medical Center on Tuesday, told The Jerusalem Post.  
The woman explained that she has another two children waiting for her at home, a 11-year-old boy and a four-year-old girl.
They are scared, she pointed out, especially the younger one.
“My four-year-old is suffering from anxiety, she feels her mom is not there and there are rockets. She has a little fever, I don’t know if it is because of how she feels psychologically or for some form of virus,” Yifat said.
As she was giving birth, the sirens blasted several times. The vast majority of the hospital is a secured structure, allowing doctors to continue their work, but the experience was still challenging.
 “On the one hand you feel you are receiving such a precious gift, the joy of life, on the other you have to face such a difficult reality,” she said.
“Now I have the impression of having something heavy in my chest and don’t feel so well,” she also explained, as the TV near her bed was screening the news.
“I must say that in this terrible situation, the staff here has been wonderful,” Yifat concluded. “During a siren, I got anxious and I could not breath. A nurse came and hugged me. It really helped me calm down.”