Underweight births in Gaza soar as maternal malnutrition deepens, UNICEF says

GENEVA

In the first half of 2025, even with fewer births, more babies in Gaza were underweight, 10% of all births, or about 300 babies per month, marking a stark acceleration in maternal and infant malnutrition, UNICEF said Tuesday in Geneva.

UNICEF Communication Manager Tess Ingram told reporters in Geneva that the trend reflects a broader pattern 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 war, an average of 250 babies per month, 5%, were born with low birth weight in 2022, according to the local Ministry of Health. But the situation worsened dramatically. In July-September this year, Ingram said, low-weight births surged to around "460 babies per month, or 15 a day, almost double the pre-war average."

Hospitals have struggled to care for these infants amid destroyed infrastructure, displaced staff and blocked medical supplies. Ingram said data showed "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."

Between July and September, about 38% of screened pregnant women were diagnosed with acute malnutrition, she stressed. UNICEF admitted 8,300 pregnant and breastfeeding women for treatment in October alone.

"This domino effect – from mother to child – should have been prevented," Ingram said, stressing that much of the suffering "could have been prevented, if international humanitarian law had been respected."

"We are doing everything in our power to support families. But, to improve the response, more aid must enter the Gaza Strip, especially aid that strengthens the health of pregnant and breastfeeding women and equips hospitals with everything they need to save lives," she said.