Emergency preparedness during pregnancy and with babies and toddlers

How to use this guide

This guide is intended to support advance planning and decision-making during a security disruption, evacuation, roadblocks, power outage, or changes in health-service activity. It does not define medical diagnoses and does not replace personal instructions from the treating team.

Five questions to ask first

• Is there a medical sign that requires assessment now, even during an alert or movement restriction?
• Where is the protected space, and how can it be reached safely with a baby, stroller, or equipment?
• Which labor and delivery unit or alternative hotline is available if the usual route is not?
• Are there enough medications, documents, infant food, diapers, and supplies for the next 24 hours?
• Who can help if children are with one parent who cannot leave or care for them?

1. Prepare in advance

During a period of heightened security risk, prepare in advance for the following situations:

Pregnancy

• Keep both on your phone and in print: pregnancy follow-up summary, important test results, medication list, allergies, and doctor/clinic details.
• Prepare the hospital bag earlier than usual, including identification, health-fund card, follow-up documents, medications, charger, water, and clothing.
• Check in advance which labor and delivery unit is operating, alternative routes, and who is available to accompany you.
• For a high-risk pregnancy, prepare a personal action plan with the treating team and do not rely on a general guide.

Parents of babies and toddlers

• Keep a reasonable supply of diapers, wipes, clothes, regular medications, suitable food, and feeding equipment.
• Prepare a small bag that can be quickly taken to a protected space or during evacuation.
• Keep the vaccination record or equivalent information in an accessible medical file.
• Keep an appropriate child safety seat ready for the car and do not improvise a carrying method during travel.

In all cases, prepare a short information sheet both in print and on your phone with household names, ID numbers, two contact numbers, pregnancy week or baby's age, medications, allergies, type of infant formula or medical food, and health-fund/treating-team details.

2. During an alert

• Follow Home Front Command instructions and use the most appropriate available protected space.
• Do not run while holding a baby if that increases the risk of falling; move quickly but in control.
• Prepare a safe place in the protected space for staying with a baby, away from objects that could fall.
• Keep water, a diaper, burp cloth, pacifier or comfort item, and basic lighting in the protected space.
• Toddlers may cry, cling, or regress under stress. A short message, calm voice, and repeated routine usually help more than long explanations.

Important: Do not place a baby on a bed, sofa, or improvised unsafe surface merely because you are in a protected space. Maintain safe-sleep principles as far as possible.

3. When to seek medical assessment

Do not postpone urgent treatment because of overload or the security situation. Seek immediate assessment for a serious sign, and call for medical advice when in doubt.

During pregnancy

• Bleeding, rupture of membranes, regular contractions, or unusual pain.
• Reduced fetal movement, according to the instructions you were given.
• Unusual headache, visual disturbance, shortness of breath, chest pain, or extreme weakness.
• Abdominal trauma, fall, or exposure to smoke, hazardous material, or blast.
• Any other sign that your treating team has identified in advance as a reason for urgent assessment.

For a baby or toddler

• Difficulty breathing, altered consciousness, seizure, or unresponsiveness.

• Repeated vomiting or diarrhea with concern about dehydration.

• Bleeding that does not stop, significant injury, or suspected poisoning.

• Fever or behavioral change in a young infant according to health-fund or doctor instructions.

• Any situation in which the parent feels the child's behavior is very different from usual—for example unusual sleepiness and difficulty waking, extreme restlessness, unresponsiveness, prolonged refusal to eat or drink, or a cry that is different from normal.

4. Leaving for childbirth during an emergency

• Do not wait until the last moment if you have been personally instructed to arrive earlier.
• Before leaving, as conditions allow, check that the maternity emergency department is operating and that the route is open and safe.
• Take identification, pregnancy follow-up documents, medications, phone, and charger.
• Leave the destination and route details with another person.
• Do not plan an improvised home birth because of the emergency. Safe planned home birth requires advance planning, medical suitability, and a qualified midwife or physician. If you cannot safely reach a maternity unit or medical center, or labor is progressing rapidly, call Magen David Adom 101 immediately, follow dispatcher instructions, and wait for the medical team.

5. Breastfeeding, infant formula, and food

Breastfeeding

• Continue breastfeeding when possible; the Ministry of Health notes that breastfeeding during emergencies provides safe food, closeness, and comfort.
• Stress may temporarily make milk let-down more difficult but does not make breast milk unsafe.
• Support the mother's drinking, food intake, and rest as much as possible.
• If there is pain, reduced infant urination, or concern that the baby is not getting enough, seek advice.
• If breastfeeding is temporarily interrupted by separation, evacuation, or medical treatment, seek advice as early as possible about hand or pump expression and safe storage under the existing conditions.

Infant formula

• Use only safe water and follow Ministry of Health and manufacturer instructions.
• During a water-supply disruption, ready-to-feed formula may reduce dependence on water and preparation if it is suitable and available.
• Do not dilute more than instructed, add cereal or other substances, or keep leftovers from a feed.
• Keep hands and bottles clean; when safe water is unavailable, follow current medical guidance.
• Do not replace a medical or specialized formula with another formula without consulting a medical professional unless a competent emergency instruction says otherwise.

Toddlers

• Keep food familiar and simple when possible.
• Do not create conflict around eating during stress; offering food and drink regularly is more important.
• Keep medications, medical foods, and allergen information documented and available.

6. Extended electricity or water outages, or planned evacuation

• Check in advance how medications that require refrigeration should be stored; do not discard or use them without professional or competent guidance.
• Store safe water in advance for food preparation, drinking, and hygiene.
• During evacuation, take safe water, diapers, feeding equipment, medications, documents, clothes, a blanket, and a comfort item.
• On arrival at a reception location, register with the coordinating body and make sure phone numbers, place of stay, and the number of children and babies in the household are recorded.
• If you independently evacuate to relatives, an apartment, or hotel, also update the local authority you left or the community contact so they can reach you and direct services to you.
• Tell the reception center or receiving local authority about advanced pregnancy, high-risk pregnancy, a young infant, allergy, or medical need.
• If the reception location does not provide safe conditions for feeding, sleep, hygiene, or continuation of care, ask to move to a suitable place.

7. After childbirth

• Stay in contact with the well-baby clinic (Tipat Halav), health fund, and the hospital department where you gave birth.
• Do not independently cancel or postpone newborn tests, follow-up, vaccinations, or treatment that was scheduled. If the service is not operating or cannot be reached safely, contact the health fund, Tipat Halav, or the hospital department for an alternative time or location.
• Watch for unusual bleeding, fever, significant pain, shortness of breath, chest pain, or worsening emotional distress.
• Ask for practical help with sleep, food, childcare, and reaching appointments.
• Postpartum emotional distress may worsen during an emergency; seek help rather than remaining alone. Tell someone close to you and contact a Tipat Halav nurse or Ministry of Health Tipat Halav service through Kol Habriut *5400 or 08-6241010. Outside operating hours, ERAN can be reached at 1201.

Reminder: what not to do

• Do not postpone urgent medical care. During an alert, follow protection instructions and call Magen David Adom 101 or the appropriate medical provider for guidance.
• Do not prepare infant formula with unsafe water and do not alter the recommended concentration in the manufacturer's instructions.
• Do not use medications or supplements that were not prescribed or approved for you.
• Do not shake a baby to wake them and do not leave a baby unattended in a protected space.
• As a general rule, do not transport a baby or toddler in a private vehicle without a properly installed appropriate child safety seat. For emergency readiness, keep the seat installed or readily accessible for evacuation.
• However, in immediate life-threatening danger, do not return to a dangerous area or delay rescue merely to retrieve or install a child safety seat. Follow security and rescue instructions and resume proper restraint as soon as possible.
• Do not publish medical information, location, or images of a mother or child without consent.
• Do not rely on WhatsApp groups instead of the Ministry of Health, health fund, or treating team.

8. Short action sheet

Print the action sheet or save as PDF

Independent publication: This guide was developed by Prepared Home. It is not produced, approved, or operated by the organizations mentioned in it.

Sources checked in August 2026.

Main sources

Ministry of Health. Pregnancy, childbirth, parents, and children during war.

Ministry of Health. Breastfeeding during emergencies and stress.

Ministry of Health. Preparing a hospital bag.

Ministry of Health. Signs that labor is approaching.

Ministry of Health. Postpartum period — emotional and physical condition.

Maccabi Healthcare Services. Emergency conditions in babies and toddlers.

Home Front Command. National emergency portal.

State Comptroller and Ombudsman. Services for evacuees — assistance with immediate and basic needs, in the report on population evacuation and reception by local authorities, 2026.