As rockets fell, doctors delivered 21 babies at Ashkelon hospital
Rate of births increased significantly at Barzilai Medical Center during military escalation, with mothers’ anxiety apparently contributing to earlier deliveries
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As war drums rolled this week in Israel’s south and more than 450 rockets and mortar shells were fired at cities and communities by Gazan terrorists, new life was blooming at a hospital in the battlefront city of Ashkelon.
There was a significant uptick in the rate of new births at Barzilai Medical Center over a 36-hour period of fighting, with 21 new babies being born between Tuesday morning and Wednesday evening, the Ynet site reported Thursday. The average number for that time frame is between 12 and 14 newborns.
Ilana Polet, the nurse in charge of the maternity ward, said the increase was due to tension the pregnant mothers suffered while hearing incoming rocket sirens and rushing to shelters many times.
“I’m used to sirens, but not while giving birth,” said Revital Kalif, 30, who welcomed her second child on Tuesday afternoon, hours after the escalation began with the targeted killing of a Palestinian terror leader.
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“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 also afraid to come visit — family, friends and colleagues.
The Times of Israel Community.