On September 13, a final-year medical student helped a woman in giving birth on an express train. They were both on the Secunderabad-Visakhapatnam Duronto Express when the pregnant woman went into labour.
K Swathi Reddy of Narasaraopet is an MBBS student at the Gitam Institute of Medical Sciences from the Guntur district of Andhra Pradesh (GIMS). She had boarded the same coach as the 28-year-old pregnant woman, who was travelling with her husband to their hometown of Srikakulam.
According to Swathi, the woman began experiencing labour pains around 3:30 a.m. She remembered someone calling for a doctor at 4:40 a.m., after which she swung into action and decided to step in.
“I was worried and also afraid because the placenta had not come out for 45 minutes, I was relieved when the baby came out,” said Swathi.
Converted the compartment into “makeshift delivery room”
Finally, the baby girl was delivered at 5: 35 a.m. when the train was near Annavaram. Swathi explained that newborns are supposed to be kept in warm conditions but the coach they were travelling in was air-conditioned. To ensure that the infant gets enough warmth, passengers offered help and gave their blankets to wrap the child. Swathi said that many passengers also helped her in the delivery and converted the compartment into a “makeshift delivery room”.
Because the train made no stops between Vijayawada and Visakhapatnam, the child could only be taken to a hospital after one and a half hours. When they arrived at Anakapalli station, the mother and newborn were transferred to NTR government hospital in an ambulance that had been waiting for them. Swathi accompanied them to the hospital and informed the doctors about the child’s premature birth, which was placed in an incubator.
