Neonatal intensive care unit in the context of Infants

Fetal viability is the ability of a fetus to survive outside the uterus. Viability depends upon factors such as birth weight, gestational age, and the availability of advanced medical care. In low-income countries, more than 90% of extremely preterm newborns (less than 28 weeks gestational age) die due to a lack of said medical care; in high-income countries, the vast majority of these newborns survive.

Medical viability is generally considered to be between 23 and 24 weeks gestational age, meaning that these newborns have a < 50% chance of either dying or surviving with severe impairment if active care is instituted; this applies to most fetuses at ≥ 24 weeks of gestation, and to some fetuses at 23 weeks of gestation with favourable risk factors.

Low birth weight (LBW) is defined by the World Health Organization as a birth weight of an infant of 2,499 g (5 lb 8.1 oz) or less, regardless of gestational age. Infants born with LBW have added health risks which require close management, often in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). They are also at increased risk for long-term health conditions which require follow-up over time.

Pediatrics (American English), also spelled paediatrics (British English), also known as underage medicine is the branch of medicine that involves the medical care of infants, children, adolescents, and young adults. Within the Commonwealth, pediatrics covers patients until the age of 18, except in India where the pediatric age is 12. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends people seek pediatric care through the age of 21, but some pediatric subspecialists continue to care for adults up to 25. Worldwide age limits of pediatrics have been trending upward year after year. A medical doctor who specializes in this area is known as a pediatrician, or paediatrician. The word pediatrics and its cognates mean "healer of children", derived from the two Greek words: παῖς (pais "child") and ἰατρός (iatros "doctor, healer"). Pediatricians work in clinics, research centers, universities, general hospitals and children's hospitals, including those who practice pediatric subspecialties (e.g. neonatology requires resources available in a NICU).

During the Gaza war, the healthcare system of Gaza was destroyed by Israeli attacks on hospitals and health facilities, killing of healthcare workers, and blockade of medical supplies from entering Gaza. The resulting collapse of the healthcare system was part of a broader humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip caused by the war.

The hospitals faced a lack of fuel due to the Israeli siege and relied on backup generators for the first two weeks of the war. By 23 October 2023, Gaza hospitals began shutting down as they ran out of fuel, starting with the Indonesia Hospital. When hospitals lost power completely, multiple premature babies in NICUs died. By the end of May 2024, both the World Health Organization and International Rescue Committee reported only one-third of Gaza's hospitals remained at least partially operational.