She will be a train baby. After all, her mother gave birth to her on board a superfast train!
On Thursday night, as Jodhpur-bound Suryanagari Express was touching Bhestan village on the outskirts of Surat, Rekhaben Jain in S-5 coach started experiencing labour pain. She was travelling from Mumbai to Ahmedabad for her delivery at her parental place. With her was a relative, Deepika Jain.
She tried to control the pain, but it was difficult. Deepika and some co-passengers informed about the emergency to ticket examiner SM Gupta. Soon Gupta passed a message to Surat railway station for a doctor. But a doctor could not be arranged by the time the train reached Surat station. On the other hand, Rekhaben also did not agree to detrain at Surat.
As the train touched Bharuch, her labour pain became unbearable. Trying to find a way out, Gupta went through the reservation chart and, luckily, found an Ahmedabad-based doctor, Dr Dharmesh Kapadia, travelling in the same train.
Soon the compartment turned a labour room. Some women passengers assisted the doctor. With first aid tools and light of cellphones, a successful delivery was carried out on the wheels. Rekhaben gave a birth to a baby girl.
As a special arrangement, the train was made to reach platform no.1 at Vadodara railway station. The railway authorities had already called a '108' ambulance that was kept ready outside the station. Both mother and daughter were carried to SSG Hospital. They were doing fine.
