Woman gives birth by roadside after experiencing labour pains on boda boda
Eunice Aber being wheeled into an ambulance after giving birth by the road side in Gulu City. Photo/ URN
What you need to know:
- Eunice Aber, 27, a resident of Iriaga East Parish in Bardege-Layibi Division was being transported on a boda boda motorcycle to Gulu Regional Referral Hospital when she went into labor.
- Mr Maurice Odoch, a boda boda rider who had volunteered to secure an ambulance noted that medics at the regional hospital told him there wasn’t fuel in the ambulance and that nurses were few to attend to someone outside the facility.
An expectant mother delivered a bouncing baby boy by the roadside in Gulu City on Wednesday after developing labor while being transported to the Hospital.
Eunice Aber, 27, a resident of Iriaga East Parish in Bardege-Layibi Division was being transported on a boda boda motorcycle to Gulu Regional Referral Hospital when she went into labor.
Ms Aber was a short distance away from Gulu Regional Referral Hospital when she delivered adjacent to Gulu Regional Blood Bank in Bardege-Layibi Division.
Her helpless state attracted a number of passersby and health workers at the nearby Gulu Regional Blood Bank who joined hands and safely delivered her baby.
Mr Kenneth Odong, a boda boda rider who had given Aber a lift says she was alone at the time when he was called to transport her to the hospital.
Mr Maurice Odoch, a boda boda rider who had volunteered to secure an ambulance noted that medics at the regional hospital told him there wasn’t fuel in the ambulance and that nurses were few to attend to someone outside the facility.
"The condition was quite terrible. I tried to help....I rushed to Gulu regional hospital for help but I was told there was no fuel in the ambulance. Even the driver's phone was off. When I went to the maternity ward, I was told all the nurses were too busy to attend to someone outside the health facility," he said.
Ms Aber was later taken to the Gulu Regional Referral Hospital Maternity ward in an ambulance belonging to Red Cross after an earlier attempt to secure one at the referral Hospital failed.
When this reporter visited Aber at the maternity ward where she was admitted along with her son, she thanked the first responders who helped to safely deliver her.
Ms Aber says she was due for delivery on May 28, 2023, but had no clue she would give birth Wednesday.
“I didn’t know I would deliver today (Wednesday) because I wasn't in so much labor pain compared to my first daughter. When I felt the pain, I chose to travel to the hospital to inquire from the doctors about the delay but the labor pain struck me hard,” she said.
Aber plans to name her second child who weighed 3.6kgs at the birth as Miracle.
"I feel today was a blessing from God, I still can't believe I would deliver the way I did,” Ms Aber said.
