In flood-hit village, Doctor helps woman deliver baby over phone

Seoni: A woman in labour; flooded streets; and a doctor giving step-by-step instructions over a mobile phone to ensure safe delivery. The scene, reminiscent of one from the blockbuster ‘3 Idiots’, recently played out in Madhya Pradesh’s Seoni district, said health officials on Wednesday.

A doctor guided a midwife over a mobile phone after she could not reach a village due to flooded roads amid heavy rains, they said.

“There was a flood-like situation in the Jorawadi village on Monday when a woman, Raveena Uikey, went into labour. Her family decided to take her to the district hospital but could not succeed as the roads were inundated,” the official told PTI.

After being informed about Raveena Uikey’s condition, a team of health officials along with district health officer Dr Manisha Sirsam were sent to the village, but found all the approach roads waterlogged, he said.

When it became clear that the team would not be able to reach the village under any circumstances, Dr Sirsam phoned Raveena Uikey’s husband and asked him to call a trained midwife from the village to their house, the official said.

Dr Sirsam then asked the midwife, Reshna Vanshkar, to follow her instructions over the phone for conducting the delivery of the “high-risk woman”. The midwife diligently followed them and ensured the safe birth of a pair of healthy twins, he said.

After the water level receded and roads became motorable, the woman and her newborn twins were admitted to the district hospital. “The mother and babies are doing fine,” said the health official.

However, unlike engineering students using a vacuum cleaner to conduct the delivery in the Amir Khan-starrer ‘3 Idiots’, the settings in Seoni were a bit real, quipped the official.