Nurse is just the ticket as bus passenger goes into labour

When Unathi Nzintha went into labour on a Cape Town bus on Thursday night, she was lucky to be sitting next to a nurse.

Minutes later, Irene Kabongo delivered Nzintha’s baby daughter on a blanket at the Milnerton MyCiTi bus station.

The 33-year-old Dunoon mother said on Friday she planned to name her baby Blessing because "it was a blessing that the nurse was there, next to me, when I needed her. She did a great job; she did everything perfect".

Kabongo was on her way home from a job interview when she boarded the bus at Woodbridge Island.

"I sat down next to a pregnant woman who told me she was not feeling well. She was on her way to Somerset Hospital as she was having contractions," said the nurse.

"I asked about the sequence of the contractions and realised that she was going to give birth very soon so I phoned the emergency number in the bus and we got off at Milnerton station."

Kabongo made Nzintha comfortable on a blanket and enlisted the help of security guard Anele Damgazele.

"The baby wanted to come, I could see the head and told the guard to go fetch the emergency kit quickly for scissors and bandages," said Kabongo.

"Then she pushed and the baby was out and I cut the umbilical cord. I’m proud and happy that the knowledge I have saved a life."

An ambulance took Nzintha and her healthy 2.4kg baby to Somerset Hospital.

Felicity Purchase, the Cape Town mayoral committee member for transport, said: "This is a wonderful, joyous anecdote. I’m very proud of nurse Irene and Unathi for delivering this new life in difficult circumstances."