Waiting Under Fire: The Hidden Struggle of Fertility During War

In the early days of Operation Lion’s Roar, I heard from a fertility physician at Laniado Hospital—a religious hospital in Netanya – on that Shabbat, when the laboratory is normally closed, someone made sure to come in and remove the frozen eggs and embryos of many couples, transferring them to a protected space from incoming missile fire.

On a morning filled with bombardment and profound uncertainty, someone took responsibility for safeguarding the dreams of these couples on their fertility journey,  travelling on Shabbat in order to protect what is most precious to them.

All over Israel couples had been preparing for embryo transfer in the days ahead, starting a hormonal protocol or planning an egg retrieval. Due to the uncertainty of war, some chose to postpone the start of treatment. For some, either the husband or the wife was called up for reserve duty and could no longer proceed with the planned process. Others were informed by the hospital that due to reduced staffing, appointments would need to be prioritized, meaning their treatment cycle was canceled, with the promise of rescheduling as soon as they could or perhaps after the war.

Amidst all this uncertainty, Midreshet Nishmat and Gefen Fertility had planned, as we do each year on Parshat Vayikra, to mark Infertility Awareness Shabbat together with Yesh Tikveh. But this year, our minds are consumed with sirens, missile interceptions, and the need, sometimes in the middle of the night, to rush to shelters and then try to get some rest before the new day begins.

Yet for couples on the fertility journey, alongside everything we are all experiencing, the waiting continues. They are waiting to begin treatment, for egg retrieval, for embryo transfer, or for the long-awaited positive blood test that signals pregnancy. This includes not only those who have not yet been blessed with children, but also couples experiencing secondary infertility, those who already have children yet long to enlarge their family unit and find themselves facing unexpected and painful barriers to doing so. Women whose husbands have been called up for reserve duty, forcing them to choose to continue the process on their own without their husband’s presence at home or put their fertility treatments on hold and leaving them in a prolonged state of uncertainty.

War does not erase the challenges of infertility. It conceals them, shifting attention elsewhere. But for couples awaiting the next step in their journey, the war does not pause their reality. It offers no respite and little comfort, only deepens the uncertainty with layers of additional unknowns.

And therefore, even in a time of existential war, under relentless sirens, it is still possible – and necessary -to see these couples, to recognize them, and to support them. Their burden is not lighter in a time of national emergency; if anything, it is heavier.

It is fitting, even this year, to acknowledge and stand with couples who are not busy trying to put children back to sleep between sirens, who are not waiting for schools to reopen but are instead waiting for a different kind of beginning.

Just as, G-d willing, this state of emergency will come to an end with a great victory, so too, G-d willing, their journey will end with a long-awaited child.

For a free consultation with a Yoetzet Halacha Fertility Counselor please contact Whatsapp +972-2-640-4330 or through the form on the website.