A mother’s touch helps premature babies grow strong in Gaza

At Nasser Hospital, a kangaroo mother care pilot programme helps vulnerable newborns as Gaza’s healthcare system struggles with shortages.

Rania Fadel holds her premature son, Ilyas, during a kangaroo care session at Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis, southern Gaza [Abdelhakim Abu Riash/Al Jazeera]

Khan Younis, Gaza Strip – For 11 days after giving birth last month, Rania Fadel could not hold her newborn son.

The 24-year-old gave birth to twin boys, Ilyas and Yahya, on September 25.

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While Yahya was born healthy, Ilyas was admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit at Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis, in southern Gaza, where he remained for nearly two weeks.

Born prematurely, Ilyas weighed just 1.4 kilogrammes (3 pounds) at birth, according to his mother. He had medical issues affecting his blood and lungs, she said, and needed specialised care in an incubator.

Rania herself was recovering from a Caesarean section when her son was taken into intensive care. For days, she could not hold him.

“When they called me to hold him, I rushed over,” she recalled. “I was in a hurry to get to him. It was such a feeling.”

As Ilyas’s condition improved and he moved from intensive care to the hospital’s neonatal care unit, Rania was able to hold him against her bare chest, introducing her to a form of care for low-birthweight newborns known as kangaroo mother care, part of a newly-launched programme at the hospital.

It involves prolonged skin-to-skin contact between a caregiver – ideally the mother – and baby, with exclusive breast milk feeding, and has been shown to have important health benefits for premature and low-birthweight babies.

“I was so happy. It was such a beautiful feeling,” Rania said.

During the session, a nurse helped Rania position Ilyas against her chest, with his skin touching hers. Rania said he remained there for about 90 minutes.

“He started breastfeeding from me, and he stayed a little longer,” she said. “I felt he was improving.”

For Rania, the contact also brought a sense of closeness after days of separation.

“The baby feels that his mother is there,” she said. “He feels safe. Honestly, it makes me very happy.”

Rania Fadel stays with her premature son, Ilyas, in the neonatal unit at Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis [Abdelhakim Abu Riash/Al Jazeera]

Kangaroo mother care involves placing a baby against a parent’s bare chest for skin-to-skin contact, alongside breastfeeding and appropriate medical care.

For premature and low-birthweight babies, it can help regulate body temperature, support breastfeeding and improve health outcomes.

World Health Organization (WHO) guidance says that kangaroo mother care has been shown to reduce neonatal mortality by 32 percent, and mortality by six months of age by 25 percent, compared with conventional care.

At Nasser Medical Complex, Khawla al-Madhoun, director of nursing at the hospital’s maternity and neonatal departments, described it as an integrated approach to newborn care that supports growth and strengthens the bond between mother and baby.

“When we place a baby on the mother’s chest, it helps the baby grow,” she said.

“We have seen babies who were unwell or underweight begin to grow faster with kangaroo care. This can help them leave the hospital sooner.”

The hospital has begun introducing kangaroo care through a pilot programme supported by WHO, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), and the UN Population Fund (UNFPA). The agencies announced the initiative at Nasser Hospital in September, but the practice is being introduced gradually in its external neonatal care unit, where babies stay with their mothers, and in maternity wards after delivery.

Al-Madhoun said the team was also preparing a dedicated room and seeking equipment to make the sessions more comfortable.

The team aims for longer periods of skin-to-skin contact – WHO recommends at least eight hours per day – although its immediate target is at least two hours, depending on each family’s circumstances.

At Nasser, the team is currently prioritising babies who are medically stable and do not require oxygen support. Nurses monitor their vital signs and assess them throughout the process.

Al-Madhoun stressed that the technique cannot replace an incubator or other treatment when a baby needs intensive care.

“It can help babies grow, gain weight and leave the hospital earlier, but some babies need other interventions, such as respiratory support,” she said. “Those babies still need the incubator and the care it provides.”

A shortage of incubators at Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis in Gaza has forced medical staff to place two babies in one incubator amid overcrowding [Abdelhakim Abu Riash/Al Jazeera]

Shortage of neonatal equipment

The need for specialised newborn care comes as Gaza’s health system continues to struggle with damaged facilities, shortages of equipment and overcrowded neonatal units.

Before Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza began in October 2023, Gaza had eight neonatal intensive care units with a total of 178 incubators, according to UNICEF.

By November 2024, three of those units had been destroyed by Israel, and the number of available incubators had fallen to about 54, a reduction of 70 percent. The shortage of equipment, compounded by limited supplies of fuel and electricity as a result of Israeli restrictions, put premature newborns at serious risk.

Israeli strikes have continued since an October 2025 “ceasefire”. Despite this supposed truce, and despite the delivery of some new equipment, the shortage of incubators and other equipment has persisted.

In May, UNICEF said it and its partners had supplied incubators and ventilators to hospitals in Gaza, while warning that neonatal units were still managing large numbers of fragile infants with limited equipment, space and power.

The war in Gaza has worsened living conditions for pregnant women with economic hardship, food shortages, poor nutrition and the harsh realities of displacement, including cooking over open fires and carrying water.

“These conditions have contributed to the rise in premature births and babies born with low birth weight who need specialised neonatal care,” al-Madhoun said.

Meanwhile, repeated displacement and overcrowding have placed further pressure on hospitals, including Nasser Medical Complex, which is already struggling with limited space and shortages of incubators and other essential neonatal equipment.

Linda Abu Nasira holds her newborn daughter during a kangaroo care session [Abdelhakim Abu Riash/Al Jazeera]

Linda Abu Nasira’s baby girl is only three days old.

The infant initially developed a fever, which has since subsided, according to 23-year-old Linda.

As her daughter was being treated and breastfed, Linda was learning how to hold her against her chest under the guidance of the medical team.

The sessions were brief. Linda said she held her daughter against her chest for about 30 minutes at a time, repeating the process roughly every two hours, according to the instructions she had received.

“She is a little better than yesterday,” Linda said. “Little by little.”

Away from the hospital, Linda lives in a tent in al-Mawasi, in Khan Younis, where she is raising her two older children – aged three and two – while caring for her newborn.

She described the conditions as difficult, particularly when it comes to securing food and drinking water.

“We try to manage,” she said. “But it is not like before, or like the conditions you would expect when giving birth.”

She does not know how long the baby will need to remain under observation in the hospital’s external neonatal care unit.

“As a mother, it means a lot to me to feel that I am helping my daughter recover,” Linda said. “I hope she will recover and be discharged as soon as possible.”

A nurse explains to Linda Abu Nasira how to practise kangaroo mother care and how it works during a session [Abdelhakim Abu Riash/Al Jazeera]

在纳赛尔医院，袋鼠式母婴护理试点项目正在帮助加沙医疗系统面临物资短缺的弱势新生儿。

在加沙南部汗尤尼斯市的纳赛尔医疗中心，拉尼亚·法德尔抱着她早产的儿子伊利亚斯参加袋鼠式护理课程。[阿卜杜勒哈基姆·阿布·里亚什/半岛电视台]

加沙地带汗尤尼斯——上个月分娩后，拉尼亚·法德尔有11天无法抱抱她的新生儿子。

这位24岁的女子于9月25日生下了一对双胞胎男孩，取名为伊利亚斯和叶海亚。

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虽然叶海亚出生时很健康，但伊利亚斯被送往加沙南部汗尤尼斯纳赛尔医疗中心的重症监护室，在那里待了将近两周。

据伊利亚斯的母亲说，伊利亚斯早产，出生时体重只有1.4公斤（3磅）。她说，他患有影响血液和肺部的健康问题，需要在保温箱中接受特殊护理。

拉尼亚本人当时正在从剖腹产手术中恢复，她的儿子就被送进了重症监护室。有好几天，她都无法抱抱他。

“他们叫我过去抱他的时候，我立刻就冲了过去，”她回忆说。“我急着要到他身边。那种感觉真是太奇妙了。”

随着伊利亚斯的病情好转，他从重症监护室转到了医院的新生儿护理病房，拉尼亚能够把他抱在自己裸露的胸前，这让她接触到了一种名为袋鼠式护理的低出生体重新生儿护理方式，这是医院新推出的一个项目的一部分。

它包括照护者（理想情况下是母亲）与婴儿之间长时间的肌肤接触，以及纯母乳喂养，并且已被证明对早产儿和低出生体重儿具有重要的健康益处。

“我当时太高兴了。那是一种非常美好的感觉，”拉尼亚说道。

治疗过程中，一名护士帮助拉尼亚将伊利亚斯放在她的胸前，让他的皮肤贴着她的皮肤。拉尼亚说他在那里待了大约90分钟。

“他开始吃我的母乳，而且吃的时间也更长了，”她说。“我觉得他的情况有所好转。”

对于拉尼亚来说，这次联系也让她在分离数日后感受到了亲近感。

“宝宝感觉妈妈就在身边，”她说。“他感到很安全。说实话，这让我非常高兴。”

拉尼亚·法德尔陪伴着早产的儿子伊利亚斯在汗尤尼斯纳赛尔医疗中心的新生儿病房里。[阿卜杜勒哈基姆·阿布·里亚什/半岛电视台]

袋鼠式母婴护理是指将婴儿放在父母裸露的胸前进行肌肤接触，同时进行母乳喂养和适当的医疗护理。

对于早产儿和低出生体重儿，它可以帮助调节体温，支持母乳喂养，并改善健康状况。

世界卫生组织 (WHO) 的指导意见指出，与传统护理相比，袋鼠式母婴护理可使新生儿死亡率降低 32%，使 6 个月龄婴儿的死亡率降低 25%。

纳赛尔医疗中心妇产科和新生儿科护理主任哈乌拉·马杜恩将其描述为一种新生儿护理的综合方法，支持新生儿的成长并加强母婴之间的联系。

“把婴儿放在母亲的胸口，有助于婴儿成长，”她说。

“我们发现，一些体弱多病或体重过轻的婴儿，在接受袋鼠式护理后，生长速度加快。这有助于他们早日出院。”

这家医院已开始通过一项由世界卫生组织、联合国儿童基金会和联合国人口基金支持的试点项目引入袋鼠式护理。这些机构于9月在纳赛尔医院宣布了这项倡议，但目前袋鼠式护理正在医院的外部新生儿护理病房（婴儿与母亲同住）和产后病房逐步推广。

Al-Madhoun表示，团队还在准备一个专门的房间，并寻找合适的设备，以使训练更加舒适。

该团队的目标是延长肌肤接触时间——世界卫生组织建议每天至少八小时——尽管其近期目标是至少两小时，具体取决于每个家庭的情况。

在纳赛尔医院，医疗团队目前优先救治病情稳定且无需吸氧的婴儿。护士会全程监测他们的生命体征并进行评估。

Al-Madhoun强调，当婴儿需要重症监护时，该技术不能取代保温箱或其他治疗方法。

“它可以帮助婴儿生长发育、增加体重并更早出院，但有些婴儿还需要其他干预措施，例如呼吸支持，”她说。“这些婴儿仍然需要保温箱及其提供的护理。”

加沙汗尤尼斯纳赛尔医疗中心的婴儿保育箱短缺，导致医务人员不得不将两名婴儿放在一个保育箱内，造成过度拥挤。[Abdelhakim Abu Riash/半岛电视台]

新生儿设备短缺

由于加沙的医疗系统持续面临设施受损、设备短缺和新生儿病房人满为患等问题，因此对专业新生儿护理的需求日益迫切。

据联合国儿童基金会称，在以色列于 2023 年 10 月开始对加沙发动种族灭绝战争之前，加沙有 8 个新生儿重症监护室，共有 178 个保温箱。

到2024年11月，其中三台设备已被以色列摧毁，可用保温箱数量锐减至约54台，减少了70%。由于以色列的限制措施导致燃料和电力供应有限，设备短缺使早产儿面临严重风险。

自2025年10月“停火”以来，以色列的空袭仍在继续。尽管有这项所谓的停火协议，也尽管运送了一些新设备，但婴儿培养箱和其他设备的短缺问题依然存在。

5 月，联合国儿童基金会表示，它及其合作伙伴已向加沙的医院提供了保温箱和呼吸机，同时警告说，新生儿科仍在设备、空间和电力有限的情况下照料大量体弱婴儿。

加沙战争使孕妇的生活条件恶化，她们面临经济困难、食物短缺、营养不良以及流离失所的严峻现实，包括用明火做饭和挑水。

“这些情况导致早产儿和低出生体重儿的数量增加，这些婴儿需要专门的新生儿护理，”阿尔-马杜恩说。

与此同时，反复的流离失所和过度拥挤给医院带来了更大的压力，包括纳赛尔医疗中心，该中心已经面临空间有限、保温箱和其他新生儿基本设备短缺的问题。

琳达·阿布·纳斯拉 (Linda Abu Nasira) 在袋鼠护理过程中抱着刚出生的女儿 [Abdelhakim Abu Riash/半岛电视台]

琳达·阿布·纳西拉的女儿才出生三天。

据23岁的琳达说，这名婴儿最初出现了发烧症状，但现在已经退烧了。

在女儿接受治疗和哺乳期间，琳达在医疗团队的指导下学习如何将女儿抱在胸前。

每次时间都很短。琳达说，她每次把女儿抱在胸前大约30分钟，按照指导，大约每两小时重复一次。

“她比昨天好多了，”琳达说。“一点一点地好。”

琳达住在汗尤尼斯市马瓦西的一个帐篷里，远离医院，她在那里抚养着她三岁和两岁的两个大孩子，同时照顾着她的新生儿。

她形容当地条件十分艰苦，尤其是在获取食物和饮用水方面。

“我们努力应对，”她说。“但这和以前不一样了，也和人们想象中的分娩环境不一样了。”

她不知道这个婴儿需要在医院的外部新生儿护理中心接受多久的观察。

“作为母亲，能帮助女儿康复对我来说意义重大，”琳达说。“我希望她能尽快康复出院。”

一位护士向琳达·阿布·纳西拉讲解如何进行袋鼠式母婴护理以及护理过程中的运作方式。[阿卜杜勒哈基姆·阿布·里亚什/半岛电视台]