BENGALURU: Sandeep Maurya, an interior designer in Bengaluru, was desperate to reach his village Kichodi in Uttar Pradesh to allow his wife deliver their second child there. He booked the tickets on Gorakhpur Express for March 26, but could not leave as the lockdown was announced. The family managed to get on board a special train for migrants to Lucknow on May 22 night from Bengaluru.
His wife Sangita, who was into her ninth month of pregnancy, was due to deliver the baby only a fortnight later. "When we got her checked at a hospital in Bengaluru, doctors said Sangita may have to undergo a Caesarean section. I was desperate to reach my village as we have all help there," Sandeep said. As the train neared Bina railway station in Madhya Pradesh around 2 am on Saturday, Sangita developed labour pains.
"I panicked and rushed to some women in the compartment and they came to her assistance. The train was stopped at the approaching station for nearly three hours, and she delivered a baby girl safely. Railway officials had called some doctors, who came after the delivery," he said. The family reached Lucknow later in the evening and checked into a local hospital there.
Asked if a woman at such an advanced stage of pregnancy can be allowed to travel by train, a senior railway official said it is allowed. Another official said, "There are around 25 cases of babies being born on migrant specials across the country. But this is a first for South Western Railway."
Deputy Conservator of Forests in Bengaluru, Sangita Bajpai, who is on child care leave, helped the family get on the train. "I had no idea that she was in such an advanced stage of pregnancy," she said.
Fear of COVID-19 makes mother refuse treatment
Another baby girl was born on board the Bengaluru-New Delhi Special Express on Sunday morning. A 25-year-old woman developed labour pains at 5:30 am on Sunday. "A doctor was arranged at Mathura, but the passenger refused treatment fearing coronavirus," stated a Railways press release. A woman doctor on board the train helped her deliver the baby when the train was near New Delhi station.