A team from the Portuguese Red Cross Humanitarian Center in Santarém/Cartaxo assisted a pregnant woman in giving birth inside their ambulance on Friday, November 28.
“Life doesn’t stop and doesn’t wait, and today [Friday], around 5:13 PM in Pontével (Cartaxo), baby Ana Luísa decided to enter the world without further delay,” read a Facebook post.
The same post noted that “the delivery went well and was safely completed in the CVP Santarém – Cartaxo ambulance,” aided by paramedics Carolina and Sílvia, and later, with support from the Santarém Medical Emergency and Resuscitation Vehicle (VMER).
The mother and baby were subsequently transported to the Hospital of Santarém.
“We wish all the happiness to little Ana Luísa and her family,” the statement concluded.
Births in Ambulances? “Of Course It Bothers Me”
Earlier in November, the Prime Minister expressed discomfort over recent cases of births occurring in ambulances, while maintaining full confidence in the Minister of Health.
“Of course, it is very troubling that births are taking place in ambulances or even in public spaces, but I have requested and am waiting for this to be systematically reviewed to understand why this is happening,” he told journalists at the time.
When asked if he still had political confidence in the Minister of Health, Ana Paula Martins, Luís Montenegro responded: “Absolutely, completely, in the Minister of Health and all members of the Government. No member of the Government can serve without my full confidence.”
The Prime Minister today admitted to being troubled by the recent cases of births in ambulances, but affirmed his complete trust in the Minister of Health.
Lusa | 01:34 – 08/11/2025
In October, the CEO of the National Health Service (SNS), Álvaro Almeida, acknowledged that “births in ambulances always happened,” noting, however, that recently they occur more frequently.
“Births in ambulances always happened. Now the question is whether they occur more or less. It seems they are happening a bit more, and we are analyzing the reasons,” he stated to journalists at the time.
Álvaro Almeida, CEO of the National Health Service (SNS), stated that “births in ambulances have always happened” and noted that although a regional emergency model is being developed, “they won’t disappear.”
Notícias ao Minuto | 22:58 – 08/10/2025
It should also be noted that during a parliamentary hearing in September, the Health Minister, Ana Paula Martins, mentioned that around 150 out-of-hospital births were registered this year, occurring in ambulances, on the street, or at home.
Furthermore, according to data from the National Institute for Medical Emergency (INEM) sent to Lusa, the number of births occurring in ambulances, just between January 1 and September 14, has already surpassed the total recorded in the previous three years.
There were 25 births in ambulances in 2022, 18 in 2023, and 28 in 2024, but as of September 14 this year, INEM already recorded 32 cases, plus another two assisted by the firefighters of Moita in recent weeks.
