Gestation at the Edge: Death Anxiety Among Pregnant Women in Gaza During Genocide

Abstract

This qualitative study examines death anxiety among pregnant women in Gaza during genocide. Drawing on in-depth interviews with thirty internally displaced pregnant women, the findings reveal that fear of maternal and fetal death is not a pathological exaggeration but a rational response to bombardment, starvation, displacement, and medical infrastructure collapse. Death anxiety emerges as structurally produced, sensory, and continuous, extending from pregnancy into the postpartum period. By integrating reproductive justice theory with conflict-health scholarship, the study argues that gestation under genocide transforms reproduction into a condition of sustained mortality proximity, demanding political—not merely clinical—interpretation and response.