Our Efforts in Haiti

Life amid death: Baby born in Israeli field hospital in Haiti

By Natasha Mozgovaya, Haaretz Correspondent, and News Agencies


Amid the tragedy and devastation encompassing the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince since Tuesday's 7.0-magnitude earthquake, a happy event took place Sunday inside the field hospital erected by the Israeli relief delegation in the city. Doctor Shir, who works at Hadassah, delivered the first healthy baby in the Israeli hospital.

The mother told Dr. Shir that she would name her son Israel. "Amid all the death around us," the doctor said, "it is very symbolic." He said that childbirth in impoverished Haiti doesn't normally take place in hospitals, and that this particular woman received the best care from the best doctors.

"She was very quiet," he said. "It wasn't even clear initially that she was in labor."

"It is very exciting," Shir continued. "It offers some small balance to the things that are happening. Life is stronger, after all, and a woman will give birth even if the ground is shaking. This is what maintains the human race. This country has a very high infant mortality rate, and we delivered this healthy baby." ...

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http://haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1143165.html