Newborn Critical After Complicated Home Birth in Jerusalem

A baby boy born at home in Jerusalem on Wednesday was rushed to Shaare Zedek Medical Center without a pulse after a complicated delivery. Hospital staff performed extensive resuscitation efforts, stabilizing the infant and removing him from immediate life-threatening danger. However, his condition remains serious, and he is on a ventilator. The baby's parents are residents of the city.

This incident follows several other difficult home births in recent years. In November of last year, a woman in her 20s from the Samaria region was airlifted to Sheba Medical Center at Tel HaShomer after a home birth complication. She was hospitalized for significant blood loss but later improved, as did her baby. Months earlier, a woman in critical condition was taken to Hadassah Mount Scopus Medical Center after collapsing during an attempted unassisted home birth. Her baby was stillborn, and the mother, suffering from shock and organ failure, was taken to surgery and later to the ICU, where her condition improved.

Approximately two and a half years ago, an infant died following a home birth attended by a doula in an Israeli settlement in the Gush Etzion area. The Ministry of Health recommends hospital births but does not prohibit home births, establishing guidelines for them. These guidelines permit only registered midwives with three years of labor and delivery experience or specialist OB/GYN physicians with similar experience to conduct home births. Certain high-risk pregnancies, including multiple births, breech presentations, chronic maternal illnesses, hypertension, pregnancy infections, abnormal amniotic fluid levels, or undiagnosed gestational diabetes, are prohibited for home births. A crucial condition for home births is the ability to reach a hospital within 30 minutes of deciding to transfer.