SINGAPORE: A woman who recently gave birth in a Gojek car on the way to hospital described her “terrifying” ordeal in an interview on Wednesday (Aug 28).
Ms Nurisah Mohamed was taken by surprise when she started experiencing light contractions in the morning on Aug 23. Her due date was not until Sep 1.
She called her husband – who was at work – and the pair decided to book a Gojek car to KKH Women’s and Children’s Hospital (KKH), said the 29-year-old, who first detailed the incident in a Facebook post on Monday.
“(My husband) called my sister-in-law, who stays nearby, and she came … and accompanied me to the hospital,” said Ms Nurisah.
“But before we could reach the hospital, I was in labour! It was such a chaotic moment. I was shouting so badly (sic) with all the pain as my water bag burst and my sister-in-law said she could see the baby’s head coming out,” she wrote on Facebook.
Her sister-in-law, Ms Norhafizah Nijam Mohamed, told CNA that the baby was born just 10 minutes after they had boarded the car at Punggol East.
She also said that her brother, who was at the hospital when they arrived, wanted to pay the driver cash so he could clean his vehicle, but the driver refused.
The family paid the driver the cab fare, which amounted to about S$22, and thanked him for his help.
“SCARY BUT ALSO TERRIFYING”
Recounting the incident on Wednesday, Ms Nurisah said the experience was scary and terrifying as her baby did not cry during the journey to hospital.
“The experience was scary but also terrifying because when I gave birth to her in the Gojek car, she didn’t cry or move during the journey to KK Hospital,” she said. “When the nurse arrived and cut the umbilical cord, then she started crying and I felt relieved.”
This is the couple’s second child.
The baby girl was born in a Gojek car on Aug 23, 2019.
Ms Nurisah also thanked the Gojek driver, Mr Leng Khee Kwong, for remaining calm.
“Throughout the journey to KKH, Mr Leng told me to be calm, and when my sister-in-law said the baby was already coming out, the baby’s head could be seen, then Mr Leng said, ‘one, two, three, push!’,” she said.
“I held my sister-in-law’s hand and the car door handle and pushed twice, and the baby came out,” she added.
“Thank you to Mr Leng. He tried to reach the hospital as fast as he could.”
Ms Nurisahsaid she felt guilty as the whole car “was such a mess with blood and all”, but that the driver did not get angry.
On his part, Mr Leng said he felt very anxious during the journey.
“In my mind, first thing I (was) very anxious and tried to send them to the hospital as fast as possible,” he said.
“I just tried to drive and tried to comfort them, saying, we are reaching the hospital soon, and then (kept) updating them (on) the time of arrival.”
He said it took about four hours to clean his car after the incident.
When asked about his decision not to accept more money for the trouble, Mr Leng said: “I want to share the joy with the parents also.”
He added that Gojek rewarded him with a holiday trip.
