The Malad woman was asked to reach Juhu's Cooper hospital but delivered on the way after which a private hospital let her in for further treatment
Sangeeta Pal (seated) who delivered in an auto, with Saraswati Wagmare (in saree) and Nita Lahare (nurse) at Sawant Nursing home in Jogeshwari East, which finally admitted her. Pic/Ashish Rane
The Corona pandemic and all the panic surrounding it led to a Malad woman delivering her baby in an autorickshaw on the Western Express Highway early Wednesday morning after being denied admission by two hospitals. Sangita Pal, 29, was finally taken to Savant Hospital in Andheri with her baby girl, who was delivered with the help of Pal's neighbour and nurse Surekha Pawar. The baby's umbilical cord was finally cut at the private hospital staff and the mother and child are now stable.
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The harrowing journey began at 12.30 am for the Pal couple when Sangita began experiencing labour pain. Her husband Achchelal, who works at a flour mill, arranged for an autorickshaw to take her to the hospital while Pawar accompanied her. They first reached a hospital in Govind Nagar where they were denied admission and were advised to go to Cooper hospital at Juhu.
"On the way, we came across another private hospital and tried to admit her there but the hospital asked for a huge fee which we could not afford. We started moving towards Cooper Hospital and on the way came across Balasaheb Thackeray Trauma Care Hospital but they did not allow us entry since it was a COVID-19 treatment centre. Sangita's condition had worsened by then," said her husband, adding that the auto-rickshaw was soon stopped and she delivered her baby. He expressed his gratitude towards their neighbour Pawar.
Grateful to all
"Savant hospital too has set an example as they admitted my wife and daughter and both are under their care now. Within 12 hours, we had two completely contradictory experiences. We are thankful to people like Surekha and her husband who accompanied us and Savant hospital where we were not even charged," expressed Achchelal, who also thanked the auto-rickshaw driver, Ajay Bind, who arrived at Pal's residence within no time. "Pal had once hired my rickshaw and asked me if I would help him during his wife's delivery if the lockdown continued. I gave him my number and asked him to call whenever needed," said the 31-year-old Bind.
Financial woes for Pal couple
For Dr Uma Shankar Savant of Savant Hospital too it was a rare experience when she received a call from her staff early Wednesday morning. "I gave all the directions to my staff while my husband and I left home to reach the hospital. After the umbilical cord was cut, the couple insisted on heading to Cooper hospital. We realised their hesitation about staying in our hospital owing to financial constraints and that's when we clarified that we won't be charging them anything," said Dr Savant.
Surekha Pawar, who works in a maternity home in Thakur Village, had just returned from her duty when she was told about the Pal's having a tough time. The Pawar couple immediately locked their house while their kids slept inside and the two accompanied Pal. "I have experience in helping doctors during deliveries. But here I did not have the support of all the tools and required. Sangita delivered the baby but I had nothing to cut the umbilical cord with or to help her push out the placenta. That's when we were informed by some passers-by of Savant hospital," shared Pawar.
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