Baby delivered with phone flashlights amid power cuts in northern Vietnam
Wednesday, September 11, 2024, 20:40 GMT+7
Medical workers had to use the flashlight of their mobile phones during a cesarean section to save a birth parent and her baby amid a power cut at a hospital in Tuyen Quang Province, northern Vietnam on Tuesday.
A pregnant woman was transported in critical condition by boat to Phuong Bac General Hospital while the skies delivered torrential rains.
As soon as she was wheeled into surgery, the hospital lost power.
With an effort of performing a C-section successfully, many medical workers turned on their mobile phone torches to brighten the room.
The impact of torrential rains following typhoon Yagi’s arrival on Saturday last week disrupted power supplies at the hospital, so it ran power generators to maintain operations.
However, the power generators suddenly stopped working at noon on Tuesday, plus the gray sky, plunging all of its rooms into total darkness.
A beam of the mobile phone flashlight in the operating room, where a 39-week pregnant woman was undergoing a cesarean delivery, showed its contrast with heavy rains outside.
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| Medical workers relocate medical equipment and tools as a section of Phuong Bac General Hospital in Tuyen Quang Province is inundated due to heavy rains in northern Vietnam. Photo: Phuong Bac General Hospital |
The entire first floor of the hospital was flooded in rainwater on the same day, damaging its power generation system.
Dr. Cao Thi Thuy Anh from the department of obstetrics at the hospital recounted that the woman and her baby could face danger if a C-section was not conducted immediately.
The hospital mobilized all medical staff available to the operating room to use their mobile lights to brighten the room.
A total of fifteen doctors and nurses were present, triple the number of medical workers for a usual surgery.
“We highly focused on the operation, and welcomed a three-kilogram boy baby,” said Dr. Anh. “The baby seemed to be the most charming light in the room at that time.”
Phuong Bac General Hospital is located in a low-lying area, so it was affected by typhoon Yagi quickly.
Torrential rains, plus surging water levels of rivers, have flooded many parts of Tuyen Quang Province, including the hospital.
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