A baby born at home near Hadera has died, according to a statement from Hillel Yaffe Medical Center on Monday. The mother is currently recovering after undergoing emergency gynecological surgery.
The tragedy occurred after Magen David Adom (MDA) was called to a home in a village near Hadera on Sunday. The MDA team found the baby with no pulse or breath and transported her to Hillel Yaffe Medical Center in critical condition.
She was resuscitated for an extended period of time, but her condition continued to deteriorate overnight, and the medical team had no choice but to pronounce her dead.
Home births are not uncommon in Israel, though they carry significant risks.
A home birth takes place in the woman’s home or a similar environment and requires the presence of a certified midwife. Most of the time, home births are planned by the couple in advance, seeking a natural and peaceful birth experience without medical intervention.
Guidelines for home births
However, the Health Ministry has clear guidelines regarding home births. According to these guidelines, only women who have had a healthy, complication-free pregnancy and are without risk factors are allowed to give birth at home.
Even then, there are strict conditions, including the presence of a certified midwife with experience of at least 100 births, basic medical equipment for monitoring and first aid, and the home’s proximity to a hospital in case an immediate evacuation is necessary.
The guidelines also specify that sterile conditions must be ensured beforehand and that the birth must be closely monitored. Additionally, the midwife is required to document the birth process, report to relevant health authorities, and be prepared to perform basic medical interventions in case of fetal distress, bleeding, or any other complications.
Despite these guidelines, there have been several tragic cases in Israel in recent years where home births ended in disaster. In some instances, complications during labor were not detected in time. In others, the delay in medical personnel arriving or transferring the mother to a hospital caused irreversible harm to the mother or baby.
In recent decades, modern medicine has significantly reduced perinatal mortality rates, thanks to precise monitoring, rapid response, and life-saving medical interventions, with the added benefit of being physically close to neonatal intensive care units.