With the sounds of sirens wailing as the rockets from Gaza targeted residents in Ashkelon, at Barzilai Hospital the sounds of crying newborns brought joy in the midst of terror. Interestingly, as the rocket attacks commenced, the hospital had an amazing 21 babies born in the 36 hour period, the mothers delivering their children in an underground bomb shelter.
Normally, they experience between 12-14 babies born in the same time span. As Ilana Polet, the nurse in charge of the maternity ward, explains, “The increase was due to tension the pregnant mothers suffered while hearing incoming rocket sirens and rushing to shelters many times.”
One of the birth mothers, Revital Kalif, agrees, as she said, “I’m used to sirens, but not while giving birth! It’s not a pleasant experience at all. I left a small child at home and an amputee mother, and we don’t have a rocket shelter at home. People are afraid to come visit-family, friends, colleagues.”
An unexpected result of the rocket attacks is the accelerated birth of Israeli babies. Another evidence, perhaps, proving that Israel loves life, as the birth rate at Barzilai Hospital nearly doubled during the recent attacks.
(Source: The Times of Israel)
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