Impatient baby cuts short mom’s trip to hospital and arrives on security guard’s desk

 An unborn South African baby had a mind of her own, cutting short her mother’s trip to antenatal care at the Somerset Hospital in Cape Town.

The heavily pregnant mother made a hasty detour in the offices of the Cape Town City Council, where staff forgot the duty post for that of midwives to deliver the impatient baby.

“The mother was travelling from Dunoon to the Somerset Hospital for a check-up on Wednesday morning. When she arrived at the station deck minibus-taxi interchange in town, her water had already broken and she was suffering from severe labour pains,” the city said in a statement.

In agonising pain, the woman turned to the Security SA (SSA) operations staff at the main guardhouse and asked for assistance.

They took her to the guardroom while they waited for the ambulance to arrive.

“However, the ambulance took too long to arrive and the mother went into labour. The SSA staff immediately sprang into action and made the mother comfortable by letting her lie on blankets inside the guardhouse room. The guardhouse was cleared and the guards guided the lady through the labour process” said the statement said.

The ambulance arrived and took the mother and baby to the Somerset Hospital for further medical assistance.

“Stories like this warm my heart. Babies always bring joy. I really want to commend the officers for going beyond the call of duty in delivering this baby and for staying calm when they faced this very unusual situation,

“They turned a simple guard room into a maternity ward within a few minutes. I am happy that both the mother and baby are safe and wish them all the best for the future,” , the city’s mayoral committee member for transport, Alderman Felicity Purchase, said.