Ulhasnagar: A 30-year-old pregnant woman delivered a baby inside an autorickshaw on Tuesday afternoon after the vehicle carrying her to the govt-run Central Hospital in Ulhasnagar got stuck in a traffic jam, highlighting how congested roads can delay access to emergency healthcare, including timely hospital care for women in labour.When Harikala Thapa, a resident of Section 20 in Camp No. 3, went into labour, her family hailed an autorickshaw to take her to the hospital as no other vehicle was available near their residence.However, the autorickshaw got caught in a snarl between the Seva Sadan area and Mayur Hotel in the New Era locality. It barely moved for around 20 minutes, according to Harikala’s relative Laxmi Thapa, who was accompanying her.“When we were just a short distance away from the hospital, she delivered the baby inside the autorickshaw,” said Laxmi.On reaching Central Hospital, Harikala and the newborn were immediately examined by medical staff and admitted for further care. “We were told that the baby is healthy,” she said.The incident has once again highlighted concerns over Ulhasnagar’s traffic congestion, where delays on busy roads can adversely affect the movement of ambulances and other emergency vehicles, potentially delaying critical medical care.While it’s a telling commentary on traffic jams in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region, a woman delivering in a vehicle is not unprecedented.Children have often been born in ambulances taking their mothers to hospital; between 2014 and 2024, according to state health department data, around 40,000 babies were born in 108 ambulances across Maharashtra. However, the main reasons for those deliveries were either the rapid progression of labour in some women or the fact that the women lived in rural areas that are difficult to reach.
