The first days of a baby's life are among the most critical. Breastfeeding provides newborns with essential nutrition and protection, supporting healthy growth and development from the very beginning. Yet globally, only 48% of infants under six months of age are exclusively breastfed, highlighting the importance of ensuring mothers have access to timely, skilled breastfeeding support (UNICEF).
For mothers living through humanitarian crises, this support can be even harder to access. Conflict, displacement, disrupted healthcare services and limited resources can make establishing and sustaining breastfeeding especially challenging, particularly for mothers whose babies require specialised medical care.
As a 26-year-old mother living in Gaza, Hadeel faced these challenges firsthand.
When her triplets were born prematurely at just 27 weeks of gestation, they were immediately admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). Instead of holding her babies close after birth, Hadeel faced long days of separation, uncertainty and the constant fear of whether they would survive.
Recognising the challenges faced by mothers like Hadeel, Doctors Worldwide has been supporting a unique, innovative breastfeeding programme that provides comprehensive, evidence-based support across labour wards, NICUs, outpatient clinics and dedicated breastfeeding spaces in Gaza.
Through individualised counselling, healthcare worker training and the promotion of best practices including early colostrum feeding, exclusive breastfeeding, skin-to-skin care and breastfeeding support in NICUs the programme helps mothers build the confidence, knowledge and skills needed to nourish their babies, even in the most challenging circumstances.
Despite the uncertainty surrounding her babies' condition, Hadeel remained determined to provide breast milk for them. She continued expressing milk regularly, knowing it would give her premature babies the best possible chance of growing stronger.
Strength beyond loss
As her babies' condition gradually began to improve, Hadeel faced unimaginable heartbreak. During their stay in the NICU, she lost her first baby.
Even while grieving, she continued visiting the NICU each day, expressing breast milk and caring for her remaining children. Her determination never wavered.
Not long after, tragedy struck again when her second baby passed away.
For many mothers, such profound loss could have marked the end of their breastfeeding journey. Instead, Hadeel found the strength to continue for her surviving daughter, Sham. With the continued support of the breastfeeding team, she worked to preserve her milk supply, continued practising skin-to-skin care whenever possible and gradually transitioned from expressing milk to directly breastfeeding Sham as her condition improved.
"Without support from the breastfeeding team, I would not have been able to continue, overcome everything I went through, or maintain my milk supply for my babies."
Hadeel’s story is more than a breastfeeding success story.
Hadeel's story is more than a breastfeeding success story. It is a story of resilience, hope and the life-changing impact of compassionate healthcare.
Doctors Worldwide continues to stand alongside mothers like Hadeel, providing essential support that helps protect the health and wellbeing of mothers and newborns so they can lead healthier and happier futures.
Protecting Health, Supporting Families
Millions of families in conflict-affected areas struggle to access safe, reliable nutrition for their children, often facing difficult choices under extreme circumstances. Access to quality healthcare is not a privilege, it is a human right.
You can give families the support they need to protect the health and wellbeing of their children. By supporting programmes that provide maternal and child nutrition education, you can save lives today and change lives for the long term.
Donate to our work in Gaza here.
