Woman delivers baby on the roadside
Bayanda Gumede, the baby’s father, said that he had called the ambulance at 8am but it only arrived to the scene at 11am.
Raheeza Suleman,Ntombenhle Mbambo holding Azande Mbambo and father Bayanda Gumede Picture: Bongeka Sibisi
After hearing urgent calls from her son, Zakaria, on the street outside her home, qualified nurse Raheeza Suleman found herself facing two options on Sunday morning; either wait for an ambulance to arrive or deliver a baby on the side of the road.
Once Suleman heard her son’s cries for help, she rushed to the informal settlements near her house in Knoll Place, Northdale, where she found a woman collapsed on the floor and desperate for help, Public Eye reports.
“When I got there, I saw a woman crying on the floor with a blanket over her. I then noticed that she was having contractions,” said Suleman.
READ MORE: Traffic officer helps woman deliver baby on N2 highway in Cape Town
Suleman said that the woman’s water eventually broke and that was when she decided that she needed to help the woman then and there.
“I used a packet for protection over my hands and proceeded to deliver the baby as I realised we could not wait until the ambulance got there,” said Suleman.
Suleman said that it took her about 45 minutes to deliver the baby – a girl – and once delivered, she and her husband decided to transport the mother and new-born to a hospital.
“The ambulance finally arrived as we were preparing to take them to the hospital and I then jumped in with the mother and baby and helped complete the after birth,” said Suleman.
Bayanda Gumede, the baby’s father, said that he had called the ambulance at 8am but it only arrived to the scene at 11am.
Ntombenhle Mbambo, the baby’s mother, said that she was so grateful for the help Suleman gave her, saying that the pain she had been in was unbearable and that she was unable to walk.
“We decided to name our baby girl Azande which means growth of family,” said Mbambo as she held her baby lovingly.
Suleman and Mbambo said it was the first time they had met each other in their lives but that they definitely would not forget one another thanks to the incredible birth of Azande.
https://www.citizen.co.za/news/south-africa/traffic-officer-delivers-baby-on-n2-highway-in-cape-town/
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