A child was born in an ambulance in Mértola, near the locality of Mina de São Domingos, during the night of Thursday, November 6.
The alert was raised at 9:55 p.m. by the husband of a 25-year-old woman, pregnant for 39 weeks, who complained repeatedly of “pelvic pain.”
“Her husband told her to rest, but the pain persisted,” said Jorge Santos, the commandant of the Mértola Volunteer Firefighters, whose organization, along with the emergency medical vehicle from Beja Hospital, was dispatched to the scene.
The firefighters provided initial interventions until the arrival of the medical vehicle, and then proceeded “together to Beja Hospital” but didn’t get far.
“Five to ten kilometers from the couple’s home, we had to deliver the baby,” the commandant recounted. “The waters broke, and it had to be right there,” Santos added, jesting that the baby “was in a hurry” to be born before reaching the hospital.
“Mother and child are stable and healthy,” confirmed the commandant, revealing that a girl was born in the Mértola firefighters’ ambulance.
The commandant further mentioned that the pregnant woman had a routine hospital appointment three weeks prior, where no anomalies were detected. Santos stressed that this was not a situation of any complication or delay in attending the pregnant woman but simply a baby “in a hurry.”
In a statement to AMM Mértola, firefighters involved in the delivery described the experience. Notably, it was the first time a woman gave birth in a Mértola Firefighters ambulance.
Among them was Manuel Fernando, who said that throughout his career, he has delivered ten babies.
“She [the mother] was a bit nervous, but I told her: ‘we’re going to get through this,'” shared the firefighter. “It’s a very big emotion to bring a child into the world,” he said, visibly moved. “I feel like a father. It’s a joy.”
Both mother and baby proceeded to Beja Hospital, where they remain in the maternity ward.
