Follow us on Telegram for the latest updates: https://t.me/mothershipsg
A Malaysian woman, whose water broke two weeks before she was due, had to make what was surely a nerve-racking trip across the border in order to deliver her baby in her home country.
Woke up to realise water broke
Roused by her husband's alarm ringing, 29-year-old Cheng Kai Ling found herself lying in a pool of liquid at around 7am on Mar. 25, 2023.
Cheng recounted in her Facebook post that she dismissed what happened as she thought it was just urine at that time.
The soon-to-be first-time mother rolled out of bed to change, only to find more water leaking out of her.
That was when it dawned upon her that her water had broke and that she was going into early labour – nearly two weeks earlier than the Apr. 7 expected delivery date.
The journey begins
She and her husband, who is a Singapore permanent resident from Malaysia, planned to have their child in a private hospital in Malaysia, according to The Straits Times (ST).
The couple even planned to take a 7pm train into Malaysia on Mar. 25 to prepare for her upcoming delivery, but their little one obviously had other plans for them.
She was only 38 weeks along at that time and joked in her Facebook post that her child is a thrill seeker, just like her husband.
From their flat in Woodlands, the couple boarded the bus to Woodlands Checkpoint and began their precarious journey to their destination across the border: Columbia Asia Hospital – Iskandar Puteri.
Cheng told ST that it never occurred to them to go to the nearest hospital in Singapore instead: "We were not thinking about other options, even though I was in some pain and discomfort."
8World News reported that she later responded to comments on the social media platform Xiaohongshu and clarified that she reportedly could not deliver her child in Singapore as none of her checkups and obstetric examinations were performed locally.
ICA officers sprung into action
To make matters worse, the couple was crossing the border on a Saturday morning.
If you did not already know, the checkpoints in Singapore and Malaysia are usually congested on the weekends.
However, Cheng and her husband were undeterred and "just kept going", making the long trek up to the Woodlands Checkpoint immigration counters by foot.
Once there, Cheng's husband informed the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) officers on duty that her water had broke and they swiftly sprung into action, much to the couple's surprise.
They got a wheelchair for Cheng, cleared a path for the couple, flagged down an empty public bus, escorted her to the bus, and instructed the driver to ferry the couple across the Causeway immediately.
Image from Kai Ling Cheng/Facebook.
A total of three or four officers helped expedite the process, according to Cheng, who commended them and said she was grateful for their assistance.
Met with some difficulties at JB customs
Cheng, however, did not speak as favourably about her experience at the Sultan Iskandar Customs, Immigration and Quarantine Complex in Johor Bahru.
Her husband similarly approached a customs officer and explained Cheng's situation to them, hoping that they would assist her, but the attending officers asked them to produce documents proving that Cheng was pregnant, according to China Press.
Thankfully, another officer stepped in to intervene after overhearing the heated back and forth between Cheng's husband and the previous officers.
However, they told Cheng that they did not have a wheelchair for her.
Cheng had to not only walk a distance to the counter to get her passport scanned, but also continue the rest of her journey on foot to get out of the Johor Bahru customs.
She kept "communicating" with her baby along the way, adding that the only thing that was keeping her going and giving her reassurance was feeling its movement inside her womb.
Rest of journey went without a hitch
The rest of the couple's journey went relatively smoothly after they got out of customs.
All in all, the pair took around two-and-a-half hours from the time they left their home to arrive at the hospital at around 9:30am.
Image from Kai Ling Cheng/Facebook.
Baby boy was safely delivered
Cheng gave birth to her son, Torrex Ong, later that day at 4:21pm.
Video from Kai Ling Cheng/Facebook.
Looking back, Cheng advised other expectant mummies to not only have the necessary documents and essentials ready in case of an emergency, but to prepare to be in the country where they want to give birth, as reported by ST and Oriental Daily.
Top image from Kai Ling Cheng/Facebook