Two Ghaziabad women deliver in ambulances due to snarl

A traffic snarl on the roads leading to the MMG Women’s Hospital in Ghaziabad resulted in two women in labour delivering their babies in separate government ambulances.

A traffic snarl on the roads leading to the MMG Women’s Hospital in Ghaziabad resulted in two women in labour delivering their babies in separate government ambulances on Friday morning. Officials of the health department said both ambulances coming to the hospital from two routes got stuck for about 30-40 minutes in snarls at the Thakurdwara and Gaushala underpasses.

The UP government runs an emergency service with 108 ambulances, while 102 ambulances transport pregnant women to hospitals. (HT File Photo/Representative Image)

The UP government runs an emergency service with 108 ambulances, while 102 ambulances transport pregnant women to hospitals.

The first incident took place when an ambulance ferrying Neema Devi, 30, from Sahibabad for her third delivery got stuck in a jam near Thakurdwara flyover and the hospital area on GT Road. “after crossing Hapur More, we got stuck in the jam for around 30-35 minutes and the woman delivered in the ambulance,” Ram Mohan, the driver of the ambulance, said.

The doctors at the women’s hospital said Neema Devi delivered a baby boy and the delivery was done in the ambulance by an accredited social health activist (ASHA) worker who was accompanying the woman, besides her husband. According to them, the ambulance got stuck at 10.20am and her husband tried hard to clear the jam but to no avail.

“The woman was lucky that an ASHA worker accompanying her helped with the delivery. The woman was later rushed to the hospital, where post-delivery procedures were undertaken. In the meantime, we received information about another ambulance ferrying a pregnant woman and the vehicle was stuck in another jam behind the hospital,” Deepa Tyagi, medical superintendent of the women’s hospital, said.

Officials said, the second ambulance was ferrying 26-yearold Pooja from Vijay Nagar and the ambulance got stuck near the Gaushala underpass, which is narrow and sees heavy movement of slow-moving vehicles on a daily basis. The ambulance got stuck around 11am.

“The woman was having her first delivery and she was accompanied by three relatives, as well as a medical attendant. After a jam ensued, the male medical attendant offered to help deliver the baby but the three women turned it down. They took charge and let the woman deliver in the ambulance. Later, she was taken to the hospital. Both women and babies are stable,” Tyagi said.

Ghaziabad police said the jam was caused after a biker was run over by a speeding bus near Thakurdwara flyover. “Traffic cops were deployed at the spot, but the jam continued as commuters stopped to look at the accident site. Police remain deployed at Hapur More the entire day. Roads around the hospital are narrow and encroachments compound the problem,” Upendra Kumar Agrawal, deputy inspector general (Ghaziabad), said.