Woman who gave birth in Mombasa-bound bus speaks out
The woman who gave birth while aboard a Mombasa-bound bus has spoken on the experience.
The last Elizabeth Nekesa expected on Saturday while boarding the bus in Nakuru was to give birth along the way.
“As we approached Nairobi, I started experiencing pains that intensified as we left the city,” the 19-year-old, recalled during an interview with Nation at Makindu Hospital in Makueni County onMonday.
A Supply Chain Management student at Coast Insititute of Technology in Mombasa, Ms Nekesa was heading back to college.
GAVE BIRTH
But she did not get to her destination. Instead, she spent the weekend at Makindu Hospital in Makueni County where she was admitted on Saturday night after she gave birth to a bouncing baby boy inside the bus.
She delivered her bundle of joy inside the Mombasa-bound Modern Coast Express bus and was admitted together with her son at the hospital.
They were discharged on Monday.
Although she refused to be photographed, the first-time mother was excited recalling how her journey to Mombasa ended up at the maternity ward.
“I did not see it coming,” she said, referring to the labour pains. “Otherwise, I would have delayed the journey back to college.”
Inside the bus, she was assisted by women passengers to deliver the baby boy, she said.
Ms Nekesa’s mother Beatrice Kwamboka, who had been by her daughter’s bedside since Sunday, said she was shocked on learning that the teenage girl had delivered her baby before she arrived in Mombasa.
FIND A NAME
“We are yet to find a name for the baby,” said Ms Kwamboka, saying that her grandchild would be named at their home in Bungoma County.
She thanked the bus staff for checking in her daughter and grandchild at the hospital as well as the hospital for offering free maternity services.
A statement posted by the bus company on its Facebook account confirmed that it took the cooperation of the passengers and crew to ensure that Ms Nekesa delivered safely.
“We would like to appreciate the patience and assistance of our customers and crew aboard our bus from Busia to Mombasa yesterday 26th Aug, 2017 reg; KCF 615 U. One of the passengers went to labour and was successfully assisted to safe delivery,” reads the statement, which has generated more than 8,000 reactions, in part.
LAUD BUS COMPANY
Some of the reactions laud the bus company and the passengers for assisting the woman deliver her baby, while others are testimonies by some of the passengers who travelled alongside Ms Nekesa.
“I sat right behind the lady, and we were all proud to receive the new born,” said Asa Omandi, drawing multiple reactions.
While overseeing the discharge of mother and child, the Medical Superintendent James Gichini said that the hospital is prepared for such cases despite the ongoing nurses’ strike.
“Through local arrangements, we have ensured that we address all emergency cases that have been reported at the facility,” said Dr Gichini.
