Strangers rush to help young mother deliver baby on train in Dharmapuri

Fellow travellers pitched in to help a young woman give birth to a child in the general coach of the Chennai-Coimbatore Intercity express. Key among them were a woman in saffron robes, and an orthopaedician.

On Friday night, Bengaluru-based IT professional Sulaiman Khan, his wife Razia Banu (25) and his mother-in-law had boarded the Chennai-Coimbatore intercity from Samalpatty, near Razia’s native town Uthangarai.

“We came to Uthangarai for her delivery. But, her mother wanted to take her to Tiruppur, where they have better facilities. The train was delayed by three hours. We were supposed to board the train at 5.50 pm, but we boarded at 9 p.m. She already had discomfort, but we thought it was normal since her due date was still a fortnight away,” Sulaiman said.

Half an hour after boarding, Razia’s contractions became more frequent. “Someone asked me to call for an ambulance to come and wait at the next station in Bommidi,” Sulaiman said. The ambulance had arrived. But, as the train reached the station, Razia’s water broke. “We had no other option but to deliver then itself as the baby’s hair was already visible. All the women in the coach took out their clothes and gave them to us. ”

A woman dressed in saffron robes, matted locks and rudraksham beads around her neck, placed her hands on Razia Banu’s pregnant belly, after the latter’s mother could not do it, and kept pushing, calling out all the while for the graces of Lord Siva. The head crowned and was visible. That is when a doctor came into the picture, and helped deliver the child.

Orthopaedician N. Kumaresan, who was travelling in C1 coach, had stepped on to the platform to check on the commotion and the crowd around the general compartment. “I heard that a woman had gone into labour. I found they were Muslims and was initially unsure if they would want a male doctor to help. When asked if I could help, they readily agreed.”

“I had no accessories, and called the ambulance and asked for sterile equipment, which is part of their basic kit inside the ambulance. They came with the kit, the cord was cut, clamped, baby separated, placenta was removed and all the basic protocols were followed,” said Dr. Kumaresan.

The doctor also started an intravenous line and oxytocin injection was given for the uterus contraction. “We waited for 15 minutes, to check if the mother and the baby were stable before they were shifted to the ambulance,” he told The Hindu over phone.

“The woman in saffron robes was the one who helped receive the baby, clean the blood, helped the woman feed the baby,” said Dr. Kumaresan, who practices at the Government Portland Hospital in Vellore.

Sulaiman says he’s upset he did not store the contact of the woman who came to their rescue. “I think she said that she was from Avinashi, and asked us to bring the baby to her whenever we were in Avinashi next. Given everything we had to do at that time, my mother-in-law forgot to save her number,” he said.