Gaza, malnutricion deaths, 165 children. Pregnancy and delivery. Gaza, 165 niños muertos de hambre. Embarazo y parto. ENG ESP

“Pregnancy and delivery. Born vulnerable. At least 165 children have died, painful, preventable deaths related to malnutrition during the genocide in the Gaza Strip”

Gaza's babies 'scarred by war before first breath' by malnutrition

Born into danger

The Lancet 23 Aug 2025

In the first 6 months of 2025, the Palestinian Ministry of Health logged only 17 000 livebirths, a 41% decline from the same period in 2022. In addition to pregnancies carried to term, 2600 pregnancies ended in miscarriage, 220 resulted in intrauterine fetal deaths, and 21 newborns died within 24 h. Premature births, congenital malformations, and low birthweight have become commonplace, as pregnant mothers face malnutrition and repeated forced displacement.

UNICEF, 9 Dec 2025

She warned that a far less reported crisis is unfolding among pregnant and breastfeeding women, with devastating consequences for newborns.

➤ The pattern: Malnourished mothers are giving birth to premature or underweight babies who die in neonatal units or survive with severe, lifelong health risks.

➤ Before the war (2022): About 250 babies per month were born underweight, roughly 5% of births.

➤ First half of 2025: Underweight births doubled to 10%, about 300 babies per month, despite fewer total births.

➤ July–September 2025: The figure surged to 460 babies per month, around 15 per day, nearly double pre-war levels.

Ingram said she met newborns weighing less than one kilogram, their chests heaving as they struggled to breathe. Low-birth-weight babies are 20 times more likely to die, yet Gaza’s hospitals lack the equipment needed to save them due to the destruction of the health system, the death and displacement of staff, and Israeli restrictions blocking essential medical supplies.

➤ First-day deaths: Babies dying within 24 hours rose 75%, from 27 per month in 2022 to 47 per month between July and September 2025.

➤ Maternal malnutrition: 38% of pregnant women screened had acute malnutrition. In October alone, UNICEF admitted 8,300 pregnant and breastfeeding women, about 270 per day, in a population with no discernible malnutrition before October 2023.

➤ Child treatment: UNICEF said 9,300 children under five were admitted for malnutrition treatment in October, with over 14,000 children currently enrolled.

“This domino effect from mother to child should have and could have been prevented,” Ingram said, adding that the crisis was caused by the conflict and exacerbated by Israeli aid restrictions, in violation of international humanitarian law.