Baby girl born on NDRF rescue boat in flood-hit Motihari

The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) facilitated childbirth on its rescue boat in the course of evacuating a pregnant woman in Bihar’s flood-hit East Champaran district on Saturday.

The mother and the baby girl, who were immediately shifted to the Banjariya primary health centre (PHC), Motihari, were reported safe.

Sabina Khatoon, 41, wife of Nasir Alam, was in an advance stage of pregnancy and developed labour pain when a distress message was sent out to the NDRF to evacuate the pregnant woman from flood-hit Gobari village of Banjariya block in Motihari block of East Champaran district.

Rescuers of NDRF 9th battalion, led by team commander Mahendra Singh Dhami, responded promptly and rushed to her village from an adjoining village in Banjariya block, where they were engaged in rescue and relief operation.

Khatoon went into labour as the NDRF personnel were evacuating her along with her other family members. Left with little choice, the NDRF personnel, accompanied with an auxiliary nursing midwife (ANM), facilitated the delivery on the rescue boat itself on Burhi Gandak river. Soon thereafter, the mother and the new born were shifted to a nearby PHC.

“Our main objective was to evacuate the expecting mother safely to the nearby PHC as early as possible,” said Vijay Sinha, commandant, NDRF 9th battalion. “NDRF personnel are trained medical first responders. In course of professional training, all our rescuers are taught in handling childbirth during emergency along with other disaster response training,” he added.

This is the ninth childbirth, including the delivery of a twin, on a rescue boat of NDRF 9th battalion ever since its personnel have been assisting the state in rescue and relief operations in floods since 2013.

NDRF personnel facilitate childbirth on a rescue boat while evacuating a pregnant woman in flood-hit Motihari.

First Published: Jul 22, 2019 15:01 IST