Woman gives birth in GrabCar
They were on their way to the National University Hospital (NUH) from the Upper Serangoon area in a GrabCar when she felt herself going into labour.
Madam Liyana, 28, felt mild contractions on Aug 12 but the couple thought there was still time. Their son was due on Aug 28, but he decided to make an early appearance so Madam Liyana ended up giving birth in the car.
Her husband, Mr Musaddiq Khamis, 27, an airport emergency officer, told The New Paper yesterday: “We thought we had enough time to get to the hospital without calling an ambulance.”
But about five minutes before arriving at NUH and while the Nissan Latio was still moving, he delivered the baby. They have another son who will turn two in December.
Mr Musaddiq had prepared a sarong and a medical absorbent pad to support the baby during the delivery and to minimise the mess in the car.
He said: “I think it’s due to the nature of my work that I’m trained to react in emergencies. I was telling her to focus on her breathing and advised Alvin (the driver) to focus on driving as I was worried for our overall safety.”
Mr Alvinder Singh, 28, an operations manager in a sports events company, has been a Grab driver for about two months.
He said: “It was so sudden and unimaginable, especially when I heard the baby’s cries.”
He played classical music to calm the situation and continuously checked on the couple.
Added Mr Singh: “I’m glad I witnessed such a beautiful moment and I’ll definitely want to visit the baby boy if I can.”
Mr Andrew Chan, head of GrabCar Singapore said: “We are super excited and happy for the family. We’re also very proud of our driver-partner who remained calm throughout the process.
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