Doctor's past stint at KKH proves key as he lent helping hand

At around 6.15am last Sunday, Dr Chow Yuen Ho was on his weekly morning bicycle ride with his friends along Upper Thompson Road when he heard someone shouting.

His first thought was that it was an angry motorist yelling at him for being on the road.

Turning his head, he saw a man on the road waving a light frantically and asking audibly whether anyone in their group was a doctor.

Seeing a car parked by the bus stop at Springleaf MRT station, he thought an accident had occurred and that medical assistance was required. He was hence not prepared for what greeted him: a woman giving birth in the back seat of the car.

The woman and her husband, who were on their way to hospital in the private-hire car, had not expected their baby girl to arrive so suddenly. The man who called for help was the car's driver.

The story of the baby's uncommon birth made The Straits Times last Tuesday.

"When I got to the car, I saw that the baby was already out," said Dr Chow, 48, an aesthetic doctor at Clifford Clinic. "Fortunately, I am quite experienced with this."

Twenty years ago, he had worked as a house officer at KK Women's and Children's Hospital (KKH), where he assisted with delivering babies in the obstetrics department.

"Doctors in that department can deliver up to 30 babies in a night," he said. "Everything came flooding back to me."

His presence made all the difference, said Mr Muhammad Annur Mohammad, 31, the baby's father.

"We were so stressed because even though the baby was born, she was not crying. We really weren't sure what to do, or if she was in danger," he said.

Checking the baby's vital signs, Dr Chow reassured Mr Muhammad that as long as she was breathing well, she was fine. This helped Mr Muhammad to calm down.

Dr Chow then noticed that the mother, Madam Mardhiah Abdul Malek, 31, was dehydrated and so asked his cyclist friends to get her some water.

One of them, Mr Adrian Khoo, 38, said it was fortunate that Dr Chow was around, as the doctor prevented some well-intentioned but ill-advised attempts to help.

Mr Khoo said: "One of our friends actually offered to use a multi-tool to cut the umbilical cord!"

Dr Chow said that could have led to a dangerous infection for the mother. Mr Khoo said that thankfully, "Dr Chow was there to make sure it didn't happen".

An ambulance came at around 6.30am and a paramedic snipped the umbilical cord.

The couple, who have two older children aged four and one, went on their way to the hospital, and the group dispersed.

A reunion was organised by ST on Friday at Mr Muhammad's home for Dr Chow, Mr Khoo and Mr Addy Soon, 53, the private-hire driver.

Dr Chow said: "We study so hard to become doctors, but we rarely have such life-changing moments.

"This was one such moment, and I'm really grateful for it."

Mr Muhammad, a food delivery driver, said: "Never in my life did I think this would happen to me.

"But it is there in my daughter's birth certificate: Born at the bus stop of Springleaf MRT."

All who were involved in the incident agreed that teamwork was key that morning.

Mr Soon said: "It is like what I was taught growing up. We do good, we do well, we do together."