Lahav – For Preemies in Israel (a registered nonprofit organization) is a nationwide association founded by parents of preterm infants. Its mission is to improve conditions for preemies and their families, elevate awareness around neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) in Israel, reduce preterm birth rates, and highlight the risks associated with prematurity. The organization operates solely on volunteer efforts and donations, providing services free of charge and without eligibility conditions to anyone in need. Lahav operates across three main areas:
Raising Awareness
Promotes media and institutional exposure about prematurity and it complications in different ways, among which it organizes events on “Prematurity Day” and during Prematurity Awareness Month, and engages the public through various media campaigns.
Support & Assistance
Produces initial guidance brochures for parents with infants in NICU. Manages an informative website, and WhatsApp and Facebook support groups. Maintains a 24/7 hotline addressing parents’ questions and needs and provides assistance interfacing with institutions for individual family issues.
Legislative Advocacy & Rights Protection
Advocates for social rights through National Insurance (e.g., parental leave, disability allowances, educational frameworks), and for medical rights with the Ministry of Health (e.g., drug coverage, appropriate staffing in NICUs)
Rights Realization
We have set ourselves the goal of supporting preterm infants and their families and encouraging the full realization of their rights with all relevant authorities. We are committed to providing families with essential information, professional advice, and personal guidance to ensure they receive their full entitlements in the areas of health, welfare, and National Insurance. The organization’s team is at your service, aiming to provide the tools and resources needed to enable appropriate and fair care for every preemie and their family.
Working for the Rights of Preemies and Their Families
Thanks to the organization’s activities, the rights of preterm infants in Israel have been expanded. Achievements include extending paid maternity leave, broadening RSV vaccine eligibility up to week 34, publishing guidelines for community care of preemies, providing disability allowances for preemies, establishing a human milk bank, and more.
Guidance, Information, and Operation of the Hotline
The organization produces an introductory guidebook offering support and information for parents of preemies during hospitalization in the NICU and in preparation for discharge. It also maintains a network of contacts in NICUs throughout the country to support and promote the well-being of parents. The hotline operates 24/7 to answer parents’ questions and address their needs and those of their families. We continuously work to aid and equipment for breast milk expression, such as coolers, donated pumps, and more. We also help represent parents in dealings with institutions and address individual issues.
RSV Preventive Treatment
Lahav – For Premature Babies in Israel promotes the issue of preventive treatment against the RSV virus in Israel, including expanding vaccine eligibility from week 28 to week 33 and establishing a fund to assist in exceptional cases.
Raising Awareness of Prematurity Across All Channels
Promoting media and institutional exposure to the issue of preterm birth, including organizing World Prematurity Day events, as well as increasing public awareness of the challenges of prematurity and the difficulties faced by NICUs..
Over the Years, the Organization Has Achieved Many Significant Milestones
Extending paid maternity leave for mothers of preemies and other infants hospitalized early in life, expanding RSV vaccination eligibility, promoting the establishment of a human milk bank in Israel, issuing Ministry of Health guidelines for community-based care of preemies, providing a dedicated allowance for preemies, and more.
15,000 preemies are born in Israel every year. Every achievement of the organization over the years touches, in one way or another, every preemie and every family:
whether it’s the cooler bag they receive in the NICU, a call to the hotline, assistance in realizing their rights, participation in our various support groups on different platforms, the comforting octopus toy in the NICU or afterward, and even in indirect ways—through all of these rights that did not exist before.
Partners Along the Way
Israeli Neonatology Association / National Human Milk Bank – Magen David Adom / Abbvie / AstraZeneca / The International Fellowship of Christians and Jews / Fahn Kanne & Co. – Certified Public Accountants / Materna / Arkin Holdings Ltd. / Harel through the M.A.H. Fund founded by Margot and Ernst Hamburger (Public Benefit Company) / Procter & Gamble / Super-Pharm
