Pregnant women can go into labour at any time. When that happens, the baby can arrive at any moment, even when the mother least expects it.
Recently, a woman took to Facebook to share that she had to give birth in the Grab car that was taking her to the hospital.
Fortunately, the driver was able to stay calm throughout the journey and brought the pair safely to their destination.
The woman has also been able to get in touch with the driver to thank him for his help.
On Wednesday (6 Dec), the woman, who wished to be known as Ms Atul, posted a photo of her Grab ride details.
It showed that she had booked a ride from Choa Chu Kang to KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital to deliver her baby at 9am that day.
Speaking to MS News, the 30-year-old recalled that they were in the Bukit Timah area when she felt her contractions becoming more intense.
“We were passing Balmoral Plaza and about to go up the Newton Flyover when I felt like the baby was going to come out,” she said.
During this time, Ms Atul said that the driver kept checking on her in the rearview mirror.
“He also tried to calm me down by saying things like, ‘We’re almost there, hang on.'”
Ms Atul ended up giving birth right there inside the car.
“I carried the baby in my arms after he came out, but because I didn’t have anything with me to cover him, I was worried that the environment would affect him,” she said.
Thankfully, they were only about five to 10 minutes from the hospital by then.
After they reached, the driver told Ms Atul to wait in the car as he went out to get help.
A kind passer-by also helped call Ms Atul’s husband, who was sending their two older sons to childcare that morning.
At the moment, her newborn son has to be in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) as he needs extra support with his oxygen.
“I hope he gets to be discharged soon so I can bring him home with us,” said Ms Atul, adding that she has yet to pick a name and simply refers to him as “Baby A”.
Image courtesy of Ms Atul
As for Ms Atul herself, she is “still in the process of recovering and trying to process everything that happened”.
“It was an unexpected experience for me and everyone that was involved.”
In Ms Atul’s Facebook post, she said she wants to find the driver again so she can thank him properly.
Someone soon replied saying that the driver was her brother-in-law and tagged his Facebook account.
This allowed Ms Atul to get in touch with him and say thank you.
Additionally, she told MS News that “they hope to meet up with the uncle one day with the baby and probably treat him to lunch or dinner”.
A Grab spokesperson also responded to MS News’ queries with a statement saying that they have reached out to Ms Atul and conveyed her gratitude to the driver.
“We are glad that mum and baby are well and want to commend our driver-partner for his kind assistance and for remaining calm throughout the journey.”
Indeed, kudos to the Grab driver for responding to the situation with such grace. We also hope that Baby A will be discharged soon so he can go home to his family.
Also read: S’pore Mum Gives Birth In Grab Car; Thanks Driver For Being A Hero
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Featured image adapted from Ore Huiying for Bloomberg/Getty Images via CNBC and courtesy of Ms Atul.
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