🇱🇧 Lebanon: The Refugees' Midwife | Al Jazeera World
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- Опубліковано 4 жов 2024
- For 25 years, Lebanese Christian midwife Muna al-Rahbani assisted at home births for the wealthy in Lebanon, but in a sudden revelation, she decided to come to the aid of pregnant Syrian refugees.
"When you help others, even with little things, you feel happy," says Muna. "Some Syrian workers and their families have been living here even before the war started in Syria. I used to help these women deliver their babies at home as well. I don't know the exact number, but I have at least one delivery per week."
Millions of Syrians have lost their homes since the beginning of the Syrian war in 2011. And according to the UNHCR, the number of Syrian refugees in Lebanon has reached one million.
Many of them are women and children and the only available accommodation is poor-quality housing or camps. Pregnant women are forced to give birth in difficult conditions and their newborn children are also at high risk.
"I don't have problems when I help a woman deliver at home. But I do find it difficult when she lives in a refugee camp. It's difficult there. We have 10 people living in one room, which we also want to use for the birth. We need to get them all out to carry out the delivery. We need the place to be completely clean. We also need hot water. After the delivery, we want to help the mother take a bath. These are the problems we face when the mother doesn't live in an individual house," says Muna.
Living in compounds and camps, without water or electricity, means that pre-natal care is erratic. The women can't afford medical fees so they don't see gynecologists until late in their term. They're at high risk of complications like pre-eclampsia.
According to gynecologist Dr Irina Samaha, "many [of these] women don't eat well. They don't have proper food. They don't take the necessary vitamins. They don't have the money for it. In a normal pregnancy, a woman must gain at least 12 kilogrammes. These women gain only five and sometimes even less. After the nine months, they deliver small babies."
The newborn babies don't always get vaccinated, so they are prone to infection and disease.
"When we were in Syria, my kids used to get vaccinated regularly. They had a good life and proper education...," says Mariam who recently gave birth to a baby girl.
"When I was in Syria and about to come to Lebanon I thought our life was going to be normal.... People here in the village discriminate against us. They call us 'Syrian refugees'. However, there are a few good people like Muna," she says.
In 2013, 1,997 Syrian children were born in Hariri Hospital alone, an average of six deliveries per day. A normal delivery costs $500 there. The UN pays 75 percent of the cost, but few Syrian families can afford the remaining $125.
"There are a lot of challenges in Lebanon, it's very expensive here," says Fawzia, a mother of five and pregnant with her sixth child. "Syria is better, while there are challenges during the conflict, but before the war there was security and free healthcare in Syria."
None of Fawzia's children has yet gone to school because of their dire financial state.
Local GP Dr Elias Kamal explains that his village clinic, which is privately funded by the Shweir Women Relief Society "only used to receive residents of the village, but since the Syrian war, 70 percent of the patients are Syrian refugees. The government doesn't help. We're ready to offer all our services because they're humans just like us."
Six years into the conflict, only with the support of midwives like Muna, UNHCR aid and privately-funded clinics like Dr Kamal's can pregnant refugees and their children receive even the most basic medical care.
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my heart aches for this family and all refugees..Bless them all..moi, canada 🇨🇦
This woman is s Saint.. God bless her..
This woman has a kind heart towards others, no matter who they are, the almighty will bless her in abundant
I'm so sad for the babies that don't have milk, Lord God please provide for them they need You,AMEN.
Thank you, Aljazeera to stand by the world persecuted people.
These women in all these documentaries are tough no screaming at all during birth or painful procedures.
Why do so many people look down on refugees? My family was treated the same way when they were refugees after WWII. Don't people have any empathy, have they forgotten that the same thing happened to their families before?
Kat they fall for the media's lies and the political propaganda.
Our refugees in New Zealand are treated very well and given lots of help to allow them to adapt to a new culture. We care for them a lot.
Muna's reward shall bring her to Paradise. The lesson here is this could happen in any country. While we sit in comfort and with our electronics, all these mothers ever asked for was milk for their newborn and money to pay for the hospital. I would love to help Muna directly for the families. I do not trust big company charities. they say about only 10 to 25 cents goes to the actual families. What a shame.
I fully agree with you
I can't imagine not being able to afford formula or other basic baby items. That is shocking and upsetting.
Muna is god herself. What a beautiful documentary that brought me to tears. I wish there was a donation link but i can do the research. Thank you.
Maybe its better to have women refugees live in a different place from male refugees. I do not even understand how someone could get his wife pregnant in these circumstances. If the wife was pregnant before the civil war in Syria started, then that's understandable. But if she got pregnant in the midst of all the carnage its just a testament to how selfish some husbands can be. I can't imagine any woman wanting to risk xenophobia, gang rape, being shot at by random border agents, drowning in the sea, and walking and hiking through thousands of miles to get to a new continent while pregnant. I mean, don't wives have the right to say no? Why make your life harder than it has to be when you are already being subjected to so much pain?
They do not have the right to say no, they have no rights at all to these men.
Lebanon and Syria are neighbor countries sharing boarder.
aljazeera is no.1
While watching this, just keep in mind that Qatar is the most richest country in the world.
Oh my..... normal to see 13 or14 year old girls who are pregnant. How are they gonna help the babies when they are so young and refugees some more😢. They already can't help themselves.
How many more children are these women going to give birth to...They are living in appalling conditions and go ahead and still have more Children....They should be educated on birth Control, so as to give themselves a better chance to take care of all of the children they already have...Educate their Husbands to have a vasectomy..They are still living in the dark ages....
They don't even have access to basic medical care or food, never mind education and contraception.
What ever the problem are birth rate won't go down
having a more children are not bad but bcoz of unexpected circumtances in your country so your life is back to zero try to avoid not getting pregnant again and again bcoz your children are suffering from the humanitarian crisis I know in islam birth control is prohibited in islamic law but bcoz of your situation we will sit aside that one its very hard to start the new life again espicially your a jobless even the lebanese government given you the asylum but not that means they give you everything for free being pregnant you need a medical attention everymonth to check your health and baby inside your womb I know how xpensive in lebanon..
How can I donate money to Muna ?
I wonder how the Syrian refugees are doing in Lebanon now that the country is in crisis? I hope they are all okay.
Why don't they just keep breastfeeding? It's healthy and more economical.
She said she's giving her food to the children... perhaps her milk is low...
If she’s not eating, her milk is low and could eventually dry up, then there’s no milk for the little one
I was wondering the same thing. She does not look too thin to produce milk. I know it said she is giving her food to the children, which is great. But she still has to be eating.
@@sheraarehs If she's not eating enough, then she's not making enough milk, if any at all.
Malnourishment.
Why do they need to buy milk for the newborn?
Aren’t the moms feeding them?
Moms may be too malnourished themselves to be able to produce breast milk.
@@roja7426 I wondered why on earth they weren't breast feeding. Costs nowt. The woman look big enough & fed enough to feed them. Bizarre
@@prudenceappleby5111 big doesn't equal healthy. Especially healthy enough to feed a baby...
Maybe she is unhealthy and works.
@@prudenceappleby5111 When they have one baby after another the milk dries up during the next pregnancy....
IUD 5 years... no baby
They don't have access to the basics of life, never mind birth control.
First
They need birth control.
Why do they keep having kids that they can’t feed why should the children suffer if they don’t have birth control then abstain
When u know ur life is hard y still hv a kids???
They don't have access to birth control.
America has done this war
Countries are going to start making stipulations of refugees or migrants...you can remain as long as you do not get pregnant.
Лучше бы их научили как презервативами пользоваться. Или ставили бы женщинам спирали. А вообще бедные женщины, а мужики кобели бессовестные.
Sugar and water? Why not breastfeeding? I hope for the best for these families
When they have one baby after another their milk dried up. I had 2 babies 10 months apart. While feeding the first I produced gallons of milk every day, my baby couldn't drink even a fraction of it.....then the milk began drying up after a couple of months.....because I was pregnant again. So my first had to go on formula. Luckily I had plenty of milk for the second baby so was able to breast feed for longer
THIS IS PROPAGANDA AGAINST ISLAM!!!!
So have you been to this location to check the facts? If not STFU and get out ur feelings. These people need help.Stop being embarrassed about wht you think Is being said about your religion, and get up and help make it better.
Lol. It's the reality of islam that you're trying to hide.
What?? How?? A lot of countries have war and refugees. How is showing the reality propaganda against Islam? There are Muslim people who live in Lebanon too.
Islam is not the problem. it's the war.