A baby was safely delivered on a moving train that was travelling from Vijayawada to Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh in the wee hours of Tuesday, September 13. While the Duronto SuperFast Express train was travelling through Anakapalle district, a pregnant passenger began experiencing labour pains at around 3.30 am. Worried, her family members began asking other women passengers in the compartment for help, and luckily, they found K Swathi Reddy, a 23-year-old house surgeon at GITAM Institute of Medical Sciences and Research, who offered assistance.
Swathi told The New Indian Express that the family did not initially know that she was a doctor. With no tools and only basic disinfectants at hand, the young medico — with the help of other passengers, the Travelling Ticket Examiner (TTE) and police officials on board — safely delivered the baby. She said this was the first time she delivered a baby by herself, and she was tense as there were no supervisors or even proper equipment on board the train. However, she expressed joy at being able to help deliver the healthy baby girl.
The Duronto Superfast Express train does not have any stops between Vijayawada and Visakhapatnam. However, the train halted at the Anakapalle station early on Tuesday morning, where medical officials were on standby after receiving a call from the train’s TTE. The woman and the newborn baby girl were then shifted to NTR Government Health Hospital, where their health was reported to be stable.
Swathi’s act was praised by the family and passengers of the train, and the medico was also appreciated by officials of the GITAM Institute. The story was also widely shared on social media, and several people, including Telangana IT & Industries Minister KT Rama Rao, appreciated her. The newborn girl will be able to avail free train travel for the rest of her life, railway officials said.
My compliments to the medical student https://t.co/uLtEFP0n08
— KTR (@KTRTRS) September 14, 2022