27-year-old gives birth on Metro

A 27-year-old woman, who went into an early labour on way to hospital, gave birth to a baby girl with the help of women co-passengers on a Delhi Metro train on Sunday morning.

A 27-year-old woman, who went into an early labour on way to hospital, gave birth to a baby girl with the help of women co-passengers on a Delhi Metro train on Sunday morning.

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“This surely is first of its kind incident for Delhi Metro, and possibly for any metro in the world,” said Anuj Dayal, spokesperson of Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC).

A resident of Itmadpur village in Badarpur, Juli Devi was on way to the Safdarjung Hospital for a checkup with her husband, three-year-old daughter and brother-in-law.

As the train left the Khan Market station at around 7.20am, Devi went into labour. Hearing her cries, women co-passengers asked other commuters to de-board at the Central Secretariat station, the next stop, and turned the last coach of train, which wasn't crowded, into a delivery room.

“One of the women with some medical knowledge took the lead and ensured a safe delivery,” Dayal said. The baby was born at 7.28am. DMRC officials called an ambulance and the mother and the new-born were shifted to Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital.

“We were not at all prepared for this. Her gynaecologist had said the delivery date was 10 days away,” Devi's brother-in-law Sanjit Kumar said. “But everything went off well, thanks to the women commuters and Metro officials.”