SCDF officers help to deliver baby in HDB flat
"I was prepared for this when we received the call..."
Mr Kean Ho, 39, was fast asleep on the morning of April 7 when his wife woke him up, saying she was about to give birth.
His wife, Madam Keryn Toh, was not due until the following week.
But the 29-year-old corporate secretary was in so much pain she was unable to stand and had to lie on the floor.
Her sister-in-law called for an ambulance.
The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) sent an ambulance with three medical officers to their five-room flat in Kent Road, off Rangoon Road.
But when paramedic Kit Shan Mak Ning Ling, 25, senior ambulance medical orderly Muhammad Iqbal Fadal, 30, and emergency medical technician Muhammad Shafiq Nur Rhymie, 21, arrived at the flat, Madam Toh's baby was already crowning.
The trio knew they had no time to take her to the hospital, so they quickly prepared to help deliver the baby at home.
As Madam Toh was in pain, they could not move her. Instead, they got her blankets and pillows to make her feel more comfortable.
To give Madam Toh some privacy, the trio had the other family members wait outside the flat or in a bedroom.
Only her husband was allowed to stay in the living room with her.
Ms Mak said: "I was prepared for this when we received the call, since I had verified the patient's condition over the phone. It was a 50-50 chance we had to deliver the baby in the home."
It was the three officers' first time delivering a baby on scene.
Though the experience of helping to deliver a baby was new to her, Ms Mak said she focused on the patient instead.
'SAFELY'
"My aim was to get this job done and to deliver the baby safely," she said.
About five minutes after the trio got there, Madam Toh gave birth to her second son.
Ms Mak said: "I definitely feel happy that I helped bring a life into this world."
After the incident, Mr Ho dedicated a Facebook post to the ambulance team who helped to deliver his son.
"Without them, I would have felt insecure and worried about the well-being of my wife and baby," wrote Mr Ho, who runs his own business.
The post has been shared about 110 times since.
Mr Muhammad Shafiq and Mr Muhammad Iqbal agreed that the sudden attention was unexpected but memorable.
"It is really an everyday thing we face - saving lives and always looking forward to something when we get in an ambulance," they said.
The SCDF's chief medical officer, Colonel Doctor Yih Yng Ng, said: "The ambulance crew led by paramedic Kit Shan were calm and composed when faced with the emergency.
"The umbilical cord was around the baby's neck, which required attention, and her quick action in loosening the cord kept the baby safe."
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