S'pore woman gives birth in Grab car on the way to hospital, driver helped remind her to breathe

In the early morning of Nov. 11, a woman gave birth to her child in the backseat of a Grab ride.

Syazwan, the husband, told Mothership that his wife, Rizqin, gave birth to their second child in the car along the Central Expressway (CTE) on the way to KK Women's and Children's Hospital.

"It could have been either the worst or best day of our lives," he shared.

Booked a Grab

Syazwan and Rizqin were asleep at home on Nov. 11 before her contractions started at 4:40am.

After monitoring the contractions for a bit, the couple decided it was time to head to the hospital.

They booked a Grab at around 5am, and the car arrived at 5:20am. Syazwan shared that the plan was to drop their first child off at a grandmother's house before heading to the hospital.

However, Rizqin felt the urge to start pushing the baby while waiting for the Grab, so they decided to go straight to the hospital.

She knew there was a possibility that she would give birth in the car.

Luckily, she was a nurse and had experience with babies, and therefore felt comfortable delivering her own baby.

"Thank god it was our second child," Syazqan added.

"If it was the first, I would have panicked, [knowing] nothing about giving birth."

In just two pushes, the baby was delivered in the backseat of the Grab vehicle along the CTE while on the way to the hospital from Ang Mo Kio Avenue 1.

When the baby was delivered in the car, it was not crying or moving, and the couple was worried that they had lost the child.

Rizqin then noticed that the baby's umbilical cord was caught around its neck. Once the cord was removed, the pair carried out chest compressions on the baby.

It then started crying softly, much to the relief of the parents.

Fortunately, Syazwan shared that the baby is doing well now.

As the couple was unable to drop off their three-year-old at their grandparents' home, the girl witnessed her sibling's birth.

"She actually saw the whole incident. She was so worried and scared," Syazwan said. However, since then, their daughter has gotten past her worry and always wishes to carry her new sibling.

Thanked the Grab driver

Syazwan also praised their Grab driver, sharing that the driver remained calm and actually helped remind Rizqin to breathe.

"I was expecting him to start complaining," he added.

Syazwan added that the Grab driver was also quite worried about his car and even asked, "my car how ah?".

However, he reassured the driver that they would pay for the cleaning fee, much to the driver's relief.

He said he was really thankful that the driver did not cancel their ride when he was informed that Rizqin was in labour and was urged to come as soon as possible.

They plan to contact Grab to compliment and thank the driver, too.

Top photos courtesy of Syazwan