An Assault on Pregnancy: What It Means to Give Birth in Gaza – Dr. Thaer Ahmad

In Season 2, Episode 8 of Every Pregnancy’s Born Into, this conversation examines what it means to be pregnant, give birth, and care for a newborn in Gaza amid bombardment, mass displacement, malnutrition, loss, overwhelmed hospitals, restricted medical supplies, and the killing of healthcare workers.

Hosted by Every Pregnancy CEO Isra Chaker, the episode features Palestinian-American emergency physician Dr. Thaer Ahmad, who has worked inside Gaza’s hospitals and witnessed firsthand the realities facing mothers, newborns, and Palestinian healthcare workers.

The conversation brings into focus women giving birth in tents, C-sections performed without anesthesia, neonatal units operating without electricity, newborns discharged into rubble, and healthcare workers continuing to provide care under extraordinary conditions.

At the center of the episode is a question fundamental to Every Pregnancy’s mission: how can pregnancy be made safer when the conditions mothers and babies depend on for survival and care are being stripped away?

They discuss:

• What pregnancy and childbirth look like in Gaza
• The impact of bombardment, displacement, malnutrition, and loss on mothers
• What happens to newborn care when hospitals lack essential resources
• The realities Palestinian healthcare workers are working through
• Why locally rooted care matters
• What mothers and babies in Gaza need most

Pregnancy does not stop in crisis. Mothers still go into labor. Babies are still born.

This episode of Born Into brings those realities into focus and asks what it truly takes to protect mothers and newborns when access to safe, essential care is severely disrupted.

DISCLAIMER: The views and opinions expressed in this episode are those of the speakers and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Every Pregnancy.