There have been many stories about people giving birth in a taxi on the way to hospital, and while it may be traumatic for the parents-to-be, imagine how the driver would feel.
Now imagine that there were actually 2 ComfortDelGro taxi drivers who experienced this once-in-a-lifetime event within just a week of each other – what are the odds?
ComfortDelGro related the amazing stories in an Instagram post on Wednesday (15 Jul).
What was even more amazing was that both births took place as Singapore is still suffering from the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The first baby was born on 27 May, in a taxi driven by Mr Hanafiah Ismail.
The taxi operator didn’t provide exact details on this birth, only that the baby boy was born to a Mr and Mrs Lindberg.
One week later, on the morning of 3 Jun, Mr Lim Wee Beng picked up a booking for KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital, and had a hunch that it would be an emergency.
He was right. Married couple Mr and Mrs Sim were rushing to hospital as Mrs Sim was in labour.
The baby was delivered as the taxi was driving on the expressway.
One might not be able to fathom the range of emotions likely felt by the couple in that moment.
Thankfully, Mr Lim, himself a father of 2, kept his cool and drove quickly.
When he realised the baby was being born, he also gave timely reminders to Mr Sim, telling him to inform the hospital so they could prepare for the arrival.
He also advised him to take note of the baby’s time of birth.
Mr Sim was grateful, saying they “would not have remembered to do so at that moment”.
Thankfully, with the driver’s help, the baby girl is healthy and safe.
While Mr Lim, 63, has been driving a taxi for 8 years, he’s never encountered such a situation.
He was glad to be of help though, saying,
being able to witness new life is a joyous occasion.
This is especially so amid the challenging times of a pandemic.
At the end of the day, he was thankful and happy that both mother and child were safe and doing well.
Drama aside, the safe delivery of these taxi babies are to be celebrated.
The cabbies in question are truly heroes for remaining calm and driving safely amid a stressful event, and delivering the new family safely to the hospital.
This will surely be a story to be retold many times over in the years to come.
Featured images adapted from Instagram.
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