Paradip: In an incident that again illustrated the lack of healthcare facilities in some parts of the state, a woman delivered a baby girl on a trolley rickshaw after the ambulance reportedly failed to reach her home in time at Sandhakuda village near this port town in Jagatsinghpur district Monday.
The woman has been identified as Salamun Khatun, wife of Sarafat Khan. Despite the unlikely place of delivering a baby, both the mother and the newborn are in stable condition, sources said.
Locals informed that Khatun experienced labour pain Monday morning. Her family members called for an ambulance. However, the vehicle failed to arrive for a lengthy duration of time. Unable to bear the pain Salamun, decided to go to the hospital. Her family members accompanied her on a trolley rickshaw. However, en route to the hospital, she delivered the baby girl in the rickshaw near Nua Bazaar locality here. The rickshaw puller and some local women from the market joined hands and assisted in the delivery of the baby on the road.
Later, an ambulance from Paradip Port Hospital arrived and rushed the woman and the newborn to Atharbanki hospital for further treatment. “Currently both the baby and the mom are in stable condition,” a doctor said in the evening. He added that the woman shouldn’t have waited till the last moment to come to the hospital. “She should have started for the hospital, the moment the pain began,” the doctor added. Sarafat, thanked the trolley rickshaw driver for the help. “Without him, the newborn probably wouldn’t have survived,” Sarafat said. “The driver also called women from the market place to help my wife,” he added.
