MDA israel

At around 9:20 a.m., a call was received at MDA’s National
Emergency Dispatch Center reporting a woman in advanced labor.
Elsaid, a senior EMT who has been volunteering with MDA for eight
years, arrived within minutes. “When I entered the apartment, the
door was open, and I could already hear the baby crying,” he
recalled. The mother was found lying on the couch in her living
room, conscious and holding her newborn son, who was crying.
Despite arriving moments after delivery, there was still critical care to
provide.
The newborn was still connected to the umbilical cord, which Elsaid
clamped and cut under sterile conditions. He then assessed the
mother, who was stable but had low blood pressure, requiring
continued monitoring. Meanwhile, a midwife assisted the mother
with the delivery of the placenta.
While he worked, a missile alert sounded. According to MDA
protocol, teams assess each situation based on the patient’s
condition and the ability to safely move them to a protected space.
“In this case, the mother had just given birth and could not be safely
evacuated at that moment,” Elsaid explained.
He instructed family members to move to shelter, while he remained
with the mother and newborn, continuing treatment and monitoring
until the situation stabilized. He equipepd himself and the mother
with protective gear, including helmets and protective vests
Once it was safe to proceed, additional MDA teams arrived and the
evacuation continued. The mother and her newborn were safely
transported to the hospital, where they continued to receive care.

In a bittersweet detail, the ambulance that transported the mother
and her newborn, Netivot 23, was donated in memory of a longtime
MDA volunteer who was killed on October 7, funded in part by his
friends.
In a single moment, that same ambulance carried both memory and
meaning, a reminder that even in the shadow of loss, MDA teams
continue to deliver life.