Surge in Low-Weight Births Highlights Infant Malnutrition in Gaza

(MENAFN) In the first half of 2025, despite a decrease in overall births, a higher number of infants in Gaza were born underweight.

Approximately 10% of all deliveries, or nearly 300 babies each month, fell into this category, indicating a sharp rise in maternal and infant malnutrition, according to UNICEF on Tuesday in Geneva.

Tess Ingram, Communication Manager at UNICEF, told journalists in Geneva that this trend reflects a wider crisis of "malnourished mothers, giving birth to underweight or premature babies, who die in Gaza's neonatal intensive care units or survive, only to face malnutrition themselves or potential lifelong medical complications."

Before the outbreak of conflict, the local Ministry of Health reported that about 250 babies per month, representing 5% of births, had low birth weight in 2022.

However, the situation deteriorated significantly. Ingram noted that from July to September of this year, low-weight births escalated to roughly "460 babies per month, or 15 a day, almost double the pre-war average."

Hospitals have faced immense difficulties caring for these infants due to damaged infrastructure, displaced healthcare personnel, and restricted medical supplies.

Data revealed that "the number of babies who died on their first day of life increased 75% – from an average of 27 babies per month in 2022 to 47 babies per month between July and September 2025," Ingram added.

Additionally, she highlighted that between July and September, nearly 38% of pregnant women screened were found to have acute malnutrition.

In October alone, UNICEF admitted 8,300 pregnant and breastfeeding women for treatment, underscoring the urgent public health crisis.

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