Baby critical after home birth in Jerusalem apartment

A newborn was evacuated in critical condition to Shaare Zedek Medical Center on Wednesday after being born without a pulse or breathing in a residential apartment in Jerusalem's Givat Shaul neighborhood. The infant's parents had traveled from Ofakim specifically to give birth at what is suspected to be an unlicensed home-birth facility operating out of the apartment. Following the incident, the doula who assisted with the delivery was detained for questioning by police.

According to details obtained by Kikar Hashabbat, the couple came to Jerusalem from Ofakim for a planned home birth. During the delivery, the newborn's condition deteriorated severely, and rescue teams called to the scene were forced to perform prolonged resuscitation efforts. The location is believed to have been operating as an unlicensed birthing facility catering to families who avoid hospital births for ideological reasons.

United Hatzalah reported that medical teams were dispatched to the Givat Shaul apartment following a call about an unconscious newborn. Upon arrival, they found a woman who had just given birth, with the infant showing no pulse or breathing. The teams performed advanced resuscitation, and after the baby's heart resumed beating, he was evacuated in an intensive-care ambulance to Shaare Zedek Medical Center in critical condition.

A medical team member who was at the scene described a complex incident. According to his account, rescue personnel encountered difficulties entering the apartment, with the infant's father standing at the door attempting to prevent the teams from entering while a medic already inside had begun resuscitation efforts. The team member claimed that during the incident, the responders faced verbal and physical aggression.

In another account from a medic who arrived at the scene, the birth was described as taking place in a water pool, with the newborn found unconscious outside the pool. According to him, the umbilical cord was wrapped around the infant's neck, and the teams worked to remove it and begin resuscitation. After prolonged efforts, the infant's pulse returned, and he was evacuated to the hospital for further treatment.

Suspicion of previous incidents at same address

According to a report in HaPargod, a medic who spoke with the media claimed that in the past six months, three additional incidents occurred at the same address requiring resuscitation efforts. Another rescue worker stated that this was, according to him, the fourth case at the location in the past year.

The doula who assisted with the birth was detained for questioning at the Moriah police station, and police are investigating the circumstances of the case and the suspicion of operating an unlicensed birthing facility.

In the past two weeks, Hadassah Har Hatzofim Hospital treated two day-old infants born in home births who were hospitalized in life-threatening condition. In the first case, a baby born in a planned home birth was evacuated an hour after delivery suffering from asphyxia, lack of blood supply to the brain. In the second case, an infant girl was brought three days after birth with liver bleeding.