‘I heard screams from upper deck’: How Dubai driver pulled over to help woman give birth on RTA bus
What was supposed to be a regular working day for 41-year-old Egyptian bus driver Mohammed Mustafa turned out to be extra special, thanks to his presence of mind and good judgement.
It was Wednesday morning, June 7, and Mustafa was driving a double-decker intercity bus from Dubai to Ajman, when he heard screams from passengers on the upper floor.
By the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA), Mustafa pulled over, stopped the bus and checked the situation on the upper deck. To his surprise, he saw a heavily pregnant woman who was on latent stage of labour.
Mustafa gathered his wits and immediately asked the passengers to make space and orderly alight the bus. He right away contacted the Bus Operational Control Centre that dispatched an ambulance as well as another bus to carry the passengers to their destination.
A father’s instinct
Mustafa’s fatherly instinct kicked in. He is a father of four and he knows the unnerving pain and fear a mother goes through while delivering a baby.
First, he secured the woman’s privacy and ensured no one was there to see the mother in an uncompromising situation. Second, he immediately called for medical assistance. Third, and most importantly, he never left the mother and he was there to assure her that everything would be alright.
“I felt like she was like my sister,” said Mustafa, adding: “I tried the best I could to make her feel relaxed. I told her positive things to calm her mind and reassured her that help was on the way.”
“I remembered my wife giving birth, and with little knowledge, I coached her how to control her breathing to ease the pain and prepare herself for the contraction,” he added.
“I also helped her to focus on the process of giving birth, even though we’re on a bus. I told her about the situation and channel all her energy and thoughts on the wonderful and emotional process of welcoming her baby into the world,” Mustafa continued.
Bouncing baby girl
With Mustafa on her side, the mother, who is from Uganda, gave birth to a bouncing baby girl on Wednesday morning on the upper deck of an RTA public bus. It was a natural and spectacular delivery — the brave mother giving birth in an unusual condition and the compassionate bus driver who responded to the emergency situation beyond the call of his duty.
The baby gave a loud and healthy cry and the ambulance came just in time to bring the mother and baby to the hospital who were both in good health.
Job well done
The following day, on Thursday, a delegation of female RTA employees and bus drivers composed of Marygoldcez Carolino Diwa De Castro and Ailen Pueto Leaño Francisco from the Philippines and Gladys Jepkemoi Kiprotich from Kenya, visited the mother and daughter to check on them and bring them gifts.
The RTA also praised Mustafa, who has been a public bus driver since 2007. He had the presence of mind to take the right measures at the right time to manage the privacy and safety of the mother and passengers, RTA noted.
