What it means to give birth in Gaza
The Take
Al Jazeera
4.7 • 748 Ratings
🗓️ 22 April 2024
⏱️ 19 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Lubna Al Rayyes dreamed about having a child. When she found out that meant having a Caesarean section in Gaza, her dream became a nightmare. Israel’s war on Gaza meant maternity wards were shut down. She had two choices: deliver on her own, or find a way out.
In this episode:
- Gabrielle Berbey (@gabrielleberbey), Reporter and Producer, Reveal
- Salman Ahad Khan (@salmanahadk), Reporter and Producer, Reveal
Episode credits:
This episode was produced by Sonia Bhagat and Chloe K. Li with our host Natasha Del Toro, in for Malika Bilal. Zaina Badr, Catherine Nouhan, and Manahil Naveed fact-checked this episode.
Our sound designer is Alex Roldan. Our lead of audience development and engagement is Aya Elmileik and Adam Abou-Gad is our engagement producer.
Alexandra Locke is The Take’s executive producer. Ney Alvarez is Al Jazeera's head of audio.
Connect with us:
@AJEPodcasts on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Threads and YouTube
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | Al Jazeera Podcasts. |
| 0:07.0 | Today, how we're expecting moms navigating a war zone in Gaza? |
| 0:16.0 | It's like a nightmare all the time. I'm thinking about it. |
| 0:21.4 | Especially that I have to deliver my baby by C-sick. |
| 0:28.3 | I'm Natasha D'Althro, and this is the take. |
| 0:37.4 | Before Israel's war on Gaza, |
| 0:40.0 | 42-year-old Lubna Al-Reyas was looking forward to giving birth. |
| 0:44.4 | And I dream about how I'm going to hold the baby in my hands. |
| 0:50.6 | I think it will be great. |
| 0:55.0 | It was a high-risk pregnancy and a surprise, but a welcome one. |
| 1:00.8 | She even held a gender reveal party with the help of her family. |
| 1:05.5 | My doctor, he put the gender in the envelope. |
| 1:10.6 | My brother, he took it, and he put it a blue car in a balloon. |
| 1:15.3 | But Lubna didn't imagine that she'd spend the final months of her pregnancy |
| 1:19.6 | contending with a war and an uncertain future for her unborn child. |
| 1:24.4 | The airstrike and the bombing, it was very, very, very high. |
| 1:29.0 | We are afraid that we will die. |
| 1:32.4 | Today, I'm talking with someone who's been following Lubna and her story for the documentary |
| 1:37.1 | podcast reveal. |
| 1:42.2 | My name is Gabrielle Burbey. |
| 1:43.7 | I am a radio reporter and producer based in New York. |
| 1:48.5 | So, Gabrielle, you first made contact with Lubna when she was seven months pregnant. |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Al Jazeera, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of Al Jazeera and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.