Lockdown diaries: Woman migrant delivers baby under tree after 500 km on foot

A woman migrant gave birth to a baby girl under a tree by the roadside in Uttar Pradesh's Lalitpur district after covering over 500 km journey on foot from Madhya Pradesh. The woman, along with a dozen others, had been marching for days from Dhar in Madhya Pradesh and after covering a distance of 520 kilometre, she developed labour pains in Balabheat village on Monday.

She was eight and a half months pregnant when she set out on the journey. Tantu, her husband, said that his wife Rajabeti was preparing food during the short break when she went into labour and later delivered a baby girl under the tree. She was assisted by her husband and some other women in the group.

He said that the group was walking on foot towards their village in Lalitpur from Pritampur area of Dhar district after the factory where they were working was closed because of the nationwide lockdown imposed amid the coronavirus outbreak.

When the head of Balabheat village came to know about the woman, he summoned a medical team from nearby primary health centre (PHC). The team provided immediate medical aid to the mother and the newborn and then took them to the hospital from where they were later discharged.

Chief Medical Officer of Lalitpur, Pratap Singh said: "The woman had delivered a healthy baby girl before our medical team reached the site. Later, both the mother and the newborn were given medical assistance on the spot and shifted to Primary Health Centre. Both are safe and have been sent to their destination in an ambulance.