Medical workers brave wind, snow to safely deliver pregnant woman

Two medical workers in Yichang, Hubei province, recently helped transfer a woman in labor at a remote village to a hospital in blizzard, winning praise from netizens, Guangming Daily reported.

At 3:05 am on Tuesday, Deng Yubo and Zhou Tingting, who were on duty at the emergency department of the Second People's Hospital of Yichang, received a distress call saying a woman at Luobutang village, Tucheng township of Yichang, was about to deliver a baby.

Upon receiving the call, an ambulance carrying Deng and Zhou immediately took off to the village. While on their way, they kept communicating with the woman's family and giving her advice.

The village is located at an altitude of 800 meters, with an average annual temperature lower than that of the main urban area. Several days of continuous snowfall had left the major roads impassable. And the mountain roads were icy.

Fitted with snow chains, the ambulance drove for over an hour to arrive near their destination.

But it stopped at a frozen uphill road when they were just about 400 meters away from the woman's home. The ambulance couldn't make it even with its snow chains. Braving the wind and snow, Deng and Zhou proceed on foot to the woman's house.

A preliminary examination found that the woman's vital signs were stable and the fetal movements were normal. Just as everyone heaved a sigh of relief, they immediately faced a bigger challenge: How to transfer the pregnant woman over 400 meters under such road and weather conditions? The road was too slippery to use any regular method such as a wheelchair or a stretcher.

Thinking on their feet, Deng and Zhou decided on an emergency transfer plan: use a "sled" for the transfer.

They gathered a carpet and cotton to make a temporary first-aid bed to drag the sled, and laid down thick quilts to keep the woman warm.

With the escort of medical workers, despite slipping and falling frequently, everyone worked together to drag the woman through the snow for 400 meters and safely transported her to the ambulance.

During the journey to the hospital, the driver drove steadily and carefully, fearing any bumps that might affect the mother and the unborn baby. Meanwhile, Deng and Zhou connected monitoring devices, provided oxygen, established intravenous access, and continuously reassured the woman while also coordinating with the hospital's obstetrics department.

At 6:17 am, the ambulance arrived at the hospital and the woman was rushed to the delivery room.

At 4:36 pm, the woman successfully gave birth to a girl, weighing about 3.4 kilograms. Both mother and daughter are in good health conditions.