Karnataka: 2 Nurses Help Woman Deliver Baby On Moving Train Without Any Medical Equipment

Medical emergencies often arrive unannounced and at times like that, one cannot help but pray for help to get them by. Before boarding the Yeshwantpur-Bidar Express, little did two staff nurses know they would end up helping a woman by conducting a delivery without any medical equipments in a moving train.

What had happened?

22-year-old Manamma was travelling in Yeshwantpur-Bidar Express with her husband when she realized that she was about to give birth to her baby. Her pain started increasing by the passage of time. Everyone was helplessly witnessing Manamma screaming in pain.

Luckily, two staff nurses, Shashikala Bheemrao and Veena Vasanth who were travelling in the S3 compartment of the same train heard about Manamma’s condition from fellow passengers. Shashikala Bheemrao and Veena Vasanth, both are staff nurses at Bidar Institute of Medical Sciences (BRIMS) and both have done BSc in Nursing. While Shashikala has over 11 years’ experience, Veena has seven years, The New Indian Express reported. The two women were in Bengaluru to write the ESI examination on February 26 and had boarded the train on the night of February 27, when the incident occurred.

The people in their compartments were talking about a pregnant woman in the General compartment who was suffering from labour pain. Both the nurses rushed to see Manamma and realized that the pregnant mother is full term. “She seemed to be in full term, but she was not aware of it. There was no immediate medical assistance. When we did the test, we realized that the baby was about to come,” said Shashikala, one of the nurses to The New Indian Express.

Makeshift operation theatre

The train had already left Bengaluru and they didn’t have any option other than to operate as the train was moving. Without wasting more time they used the space between the toilet and the door of the train and converted it into a makeshift operation theatre. Fellow passengers helped the duo of nurses by providing the necessary things like bedsheet, knife, and thread. While the bedsheets were used to cordon off the area, polythene bags were used as gloves. “There was a family traveling in the same compartment. We had seen them using a knife and borrowed it from them. We needed a thread. Many people who travel from Bengaluru to Bidar get jasmine flowers as they are not available much in Bidar. They string the flowers to pass time. We took the thread from one such person. While Veena helped Manamma push the baby, I conducted the delivery. All this happened within 15 to 20 minutes. It’s a girl baby,’’ Shashikala told the daily.

Manamma delivered her first baby without any complications. There was a risk but the nurses’ experiences in deliveries boosted their confidence and made the operation successful, without any medical equipment, drugs or a doctor. “We had called 108 ambulance which arrived at Dharmavaram station. Manamma and her baby were shifted to a government hospital. They are doing fine,’’ said by Veena. Dr C S Ragate, Medical Superintendent, BRIMS, said, “It’s a proud moment for us. We are going to felicitate the two nurses.”

The two nurses, with their professional expertise and quick thinking, was able to turn a delicate situation like this into a cause for joy for the new mother. The Logical Indian applauds their efforts for their deed.

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