An officer of the Public Security Police (PSP) assisted in a childbirth at the entrance of the Sintra – Algueirão Mem Martins Hospital on the morning of October 7, in a public area.
A PSP statement detailed that just moments before the baby was born, at 11:10 a.m. on Tuesday, a vehicle stopped at the hospital entrance near the officers, “in search of assistance.”
Upon inspecting the situation, where a pregnant woman was in labor in the car’s back seat, one of the PSP officers “alerted the hospital’s medical team,” while another officer “stayed to assist the woman in labor.”
The officer who remained with the woman ultimately assisted in the childbirth, which occurred before the medical team arrived on scene.
Later, the security force noted that both the mother and baby “received medical assistance” and are “currently in good health.”
Data from the National Institute of Medical Emergency (INEM) indicates that the number of births in ambulances between January 1 and September 14 exceeded the total recorded in the previous three years.
There were 25 births in ambulances in 2022, 18 in 2023, and 28 in 2024. However, by September 14 of this year, INEM had recorded 32, with an additional two assisted by Moita firefighters in recent weeks.
Last week, a baby was born in an ambulance en route to Almada Hospital, as the obstetrics emergency department at Barreiro Hospital was closed. The ambulance was redirected to Almada, but the baby was born on IC21 before reaching the tolls.
Recently, during a parliamentary hearing, Health Minister Ana Paula Martins mentioned that this year around 150 births were recorded in non-hospital settings, including ambulances, streets, or homes.
For the Setúbal Peninsula, which is the most critical area due to a shortage of healthcare professionals to complete shifts, the government plans to establish a regional obstetrics emergency service shortly, with the Garcia de Orta Hospital operating full-time while Setúbal Hospital receives cases referred by SNS 24 and INEM.
