Just a few more minutes and she would have been born in an antiseptic, less crowded and noise-free environment.
A 35-year-old woman gave birth inside a coach of the Light Rail Transit’s (LRT) Line 1 Wednesday morning, just minutes before the northbound train pulled into the station where she was supposed to get off.
LRT spokesperson Hernando Cabrera said that Darlin Idio, a resident of Las Piñas City, gave birth to a baby girl at 6:25 a.m.
Idio and her male companion who was not identified were on their way to Jose Fabella Hospital in Sta. Cruz, Manila, where she was supposed to give birth.
A female security guard of the LRT, Michelle Manansala, became aware of the couple’s situation when they boarded the train at the Baclaran Station and promptly assisted them.
“But just after leaving Carriedo [station], the woman’s water broke and the baby came out before [the train arrived] at Doroteo Jose [station],” Cabrera said.
Fortunately, a nurse who worked at the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp., Ma. Cecilia Lopez, was a passenger on the same train and helped Idio deliver her baby.
LRT staffers who had been alerted to the situation met the couple and their newborn baby at the Doroteo Jose station and took them to Jose Fabella Hospital.
Cabrera said that mother and child were both in good condition. A TV report said the mother planned to call her baby “Carrie” because she was born at Carriedo station.