Health workers help deliver Orang Asli twins on ambulance boat

IPOH: It is a routine practice for nurse-midwife Nur Shaffriza Mohd Shaffril to visit and carry out checks on expectant mothers in the Orang Asli settlement in Pos Kemar, which normally include a ride on an ambulance boat to the destination.

Little did she know that she would have to help deliver a baby, let alone twins, on the ambulance boat!

Last Saturday morning, Nur Shaffriza, who is attached to Pos Kemar Clinic, had visited the mother at her house before the 31-year-old woman began to experience labour pains.

She said the woman was quickly taken to the clinic for examination they decided that she had to be taken to Gerik Hospital, which is about two hours away from Pos Kemar, including a 45 minutes boat ride across Tasik Banding (Banding Lake).

"We were on the ambulance boat when the woman started having contractions and upon a check, I knew she was fully dilated and so ready to give birth to her babies. It happened so fast, the first baby was born at 11.20 am and the second, five minutes later.

"Alhamdulillah, all the equipment needed for childbirth was ready so we managed to execute the delivery process well," she told Bernama when contacted.

Nur Shaffriza said the delivery of the twin boys was a valuable experience as it was the first time she had done so in her 16 years of service.

Meanwhile, ambulance driver Mohd Hisham Shamsuddin, who also witnessed the births, said he drove a team of health personnel comprising medical officers, nurses, and healthcare assistants together with the expectant mother from the clinic to Kemar Jetty at about 10.30 pm.

"I boarded the ambulance boat with them to go to Trojen Jetty where an ambulance from the Gerik Hospital was waiting for us but the woman gave birth to her twins during that 45 minutes boat ride.

"I have never witnessed this during the four years that I have served at the Pos Kemar Clinic and it was a very beautiful experience for me," he said.

The Perak Health Department through its official Facebook page on Wednesday said as a result of the quick action of health workers, the mother who was 35 weeks pregnant safely gave birth to the twins weighing 2.4 kilogrammes (kg) and 1.3 kg respectively.

The mother and the babies were later sent to the Raja Permaisuri Bainun Hospital, Ipoh for follow-up treatment.

For the record, Pos Kemar is an Orang Asli settlement in Gerik and boats are the main mode of transport for the residents.

-- BERNAMA