We educate ourselves to lead comfortable lives in the future and get jobs to ensure the same. However, each speck of knowledge that we gain is meant for a purpose bigger than ourselves.
Vipin Bhagwanrao Khadse, a doctor from Nagpur, proved exactly this.
On 7 April 2017, World Health Day, while traveling in a train from Akola to Nagpur, Khadse heard the TTE call out for a doctor as a passenger was in need of medical attention. When no one stepped in, Khadse decided to put his medical knowledge as an MBBS student to use.
The train had halted in Wardha and he was directed by the General coach to the sleeper coach where he found a pregnant woman in her early twenties suffering from labour pain.
In his Facebook post about the incident, Khadse revealed that the woman was sweating profusely due to the heat and had passed a lot of fluid. But the most threatening part was that the baby’s position had altered. Its shoulders were coming out first as his neck had flexed. Khadse was panicking himself and decided to call his resident doctor for advice.
This was the first time Khadse was performing an episiotomy without any guidance. He used chilled water bottles to stop the woman from bleeding. After the amniotic fluid had completely dried up, a midwife on the train helped him perform the delivery.
With the help of a few instruments in his bag – roll bandage, sterile surgical blade, mask, gloves and suture thread, he performed the surgery.
However, the baby wasn’t respiring after delivery, though his heartbeat was normal. Taking advice from his resident doctor, he held the baby in a downright position to stimulate its breathing.
The mother’s condition was also worsening as she continued to bleed. Since Khadse did not have a needle holder for suturing, he remembers what was taught in college – apply pressure to stop the bleeding.
After a few hours of struggle, both the baby and the mother were stable.
Vipin Bhagwanrao Khadse showed immense courage and did something most people his age would be apprehensive about. His speedy thinking saved a mother and her baby’s life.
The Logical Indian applauds his efforts and hopes that he continues his good work to help save many more lives.
However, this is an isolated situation where the woman was in competent hands. Unsupervised delivery can be life-threatening for both the mother and the child.
One of the largest railway networks in the world, the Indian railways ferry more than 20 million people every day. Therefore, having medical staff and first aid kits in trains in highly important. People like Vipin might not be available in the future and the government needs to ensure that the passengers are taken care of in case of emergencies.