Local General Practitioner, Dr Ferhardt Yasin, delivered a baby outside his place of work, on the streets of Athlone on Monday morning.
The quick-thinking doctor was assisting a patient during a consultation at his practice early on Monday morning when he heard the frantic calls of a woman going into labour on the road.
Yasin quickly called for an ambulance and rushed to assist the panicked woman. Minutes later he was helping deliver her baby out on the cold street after she collapsed during labour.
In an ideal situation, there is an entire team of doctors who would assist during the delivery, said Yasin. But in this case, he had to play several roles, with the help of his receptionist and people of the community – who chipped in to help by creating a tent with towels and umbrellas to give the mom some privacy.
“In the moment you have to do what you have to do. It was just like in the movies, I needed boiling water and towels and had to run between the street and my office to get the tools I needed to deliver the baby,” the doctor said.
A crowd gathered as the contractions became more severe and the baby started to push its way into the world.
“It was definitely something you don’t experience everyday,” said Yasin.
Despite the drama created by the birth, the baby was delivered with little complications and came out happy and healthy.
Once the baby was born there was an urgency to get the little one warm and out of the cold weather. Yasin’s main concern was around the child and complications from the birth, luckily it was a smooth delivery.
When asked about how he would describe the whole experience Yasin said, “It was like God’s gift to nature, babies are sent from above but they don’t let you know what time they are going to arrive.”
Since the delivery, the community have band together, dropping off blankets, nappies and products for the healthy baby girl. “The community were very involved and our office is overflowing with goods for the baby,” he said.
It is not surprising that this was not Yasin’s first impromptu baby delivery, it is actually his second. His first was much more relaxed as it took place on a warm summer day just outside of the parents’ home.
Picture: Supplied by Dr Yasin, his receptionist Miss Zainab Adonis holds the new born baby girl.