Meet Maya, the baby girl born in an ambulance in the UAE
Father recalls how his daughter was in a rush to see the world
Ajman: Maya Henneh was in a rush to see the world – she was born in an ambulance that was taking her mom in labour to a hospital in Ajman.
Both mom and baby Maya are doing well, Advance Feisa, Maya’s father, told Gulf News. Feisa, who is from Ethiopia, thanked the National Ambulance medics for delivering Maya and taking care of both baby and mom.
Recalling the incident, he said the hospital had specified March 17 as the due date for birth – Maya came into the world six days earlier, on March 11.
Last Friday, at around 9am, his wife felt labour pain but didn’t expect the birth would happen the same day.
By around 7pm, she had started experiencing severe pain and Feisa called 998 asking for help. He said the ambulance staff who took the call helped him calm down and gave some instructions.
Stopping for delivery
Soon enough, two ambulances reached their home, in Al Rumaila area, and one of them took the mother. However, the ambulance stopped shortly afterwards and started delivery procedures. The crew made an effort to calm the mother so that the birth could take place easily.
“One of the medics came to me and told me that my wife delivered a baby girl,” Feisa said.
The ambulance then proceeding to take baby and mom to Sheikh Khalifa Hospital, where they were received in good condition.
Maya is the second child for the couple; the first one is also a girl, now 13.
‘It’s a beautiful feeling’
Sara Al Naqbi, an emergency medical technician who is one of the crew who attended the delivery procedure for Maya, said: “It was exciting to see a baby born in front of your eyes, this is the first time I witnessed a birth.”
The training that the crew had undergone was put into action. She added: “This is part of their daily work because they are trained to deal with all emergencies outside the hospital. Unfortunately, we are witnessing many deaths before our eyes [as part of our work as medics], but it is a very beautiful feeling to see a child being born.”
Krista Reslin, another emergency medical technician, said she followed the protocol used for delivery cases before arriving at the hospital. “The focus is on maintaining the safety of the mother and the child, especially the births taking place outside the hospital and there are challenges, but we are used to overcome these challenges,” she added.
“The first time we [the team of four members] heard the child’s cry, we were very happy and excited.”
There was cooperation between the team members and the roles were divided, while maintaining communication with the operating room, hospital, and the family.