Impatient baby cuts short mom's trip to hospital for pregnancy check-up

11 September 2020 - 20:10 By nomahlubi sonjica
subscribe Just R20 for the first month. Support independent journalism by subscribing to our digital news package.
Subscribe now
Staff at the City of Cape Town helped deliver a baby girl.
Staff at the City of Cape Town helped deliver a baby girl.
Image: 123RF/sam74100

A baby girl had a mind of her own on Wednesday, cutting short her mother's trip to have a pregnancy check-up at the Somerset Hospital in Cape Town.

Instead, the Dunoon mom had to make a hasty detour on the city's station deck, where City of Cape Town staff had to step up to deliver the impatient baby.

“The mother was travelling from Dunoon to the Somerset Hospital for a check-up on Wednesday morning. When she arrived at the station deck minibus-taxi interchange in town, her water had already broken and she was suffering from severe labour pains,” the city said in a statement.

The woman, according to the city, approached Security SA (SSA) operations staff at the main guard house and asked for assistance.

Three SSA officials took her to the guardroom while they waited for the ambulance to arrive.

“However, the ambulance took too long to arrive and the mother went into labour. The SSA staff immediately sprang into action and made the mother comfortable by letting her lie on blankets inside the guardhouse room. The guard house was cleared and the guards guided the lady through the labour process” said the city.

The ambulance arrived and took the mother and baby to the Somerset Hospital for further medical assistance.

“Stories like this warm my heart. Babies always bring joy. I really want to commend the officers for going beyond the call of duty in delivering this baby and for staying calm when they faced this very unusual situation,” said the city’s mayoral committee member for transport, Alderman Felicity Purchase.

“They turned a simple guard room into a maternity ward within a few minutes. I am happy that both the mother and baby are safe and wish them all the best for the future,”

TimesLIVE


subscribe Just R20 for the first month. Support independent journalism by subscribing to our digital news package.
Subscribe now