Baby born in Town Centre parking lot
A woman says her breach birth in a Town Centre parking lot, after driving herself partway to hospital while in labour and then getting a stranger to drive her the rest of the way, is a miracle..
A Melomed nurse, Pretty Njapha, who was on her lunch break, rushed to the aid of Ntombizodwa Zuzani, 35, from Crossroads, and helped deliver the baby on Thursday April 13.
Ms Zuzani said she started getting pains at around 7am that morning but by 10am the pains had intensified. When she saw blood, she panicked and jumped into her car to rush to the hospital.
“I wasn’t prepared to go to the hospital and left everything. It was overwhelming. I stopped at the petrol station for petrol, but saw someone I recognised from my neighbourhood and asked him to drive me to the hospital. I didn’t know his name or where he lived exactly but I needed someone to drive me to the hospital immediately,” she said.
As they got to the traffic lights close to the hospital, her water broke.
“It felt like the baby was coming,” she said.
The man who drove jumped out to get help because the baby was crowning, she said.
Ms Njapha was on her lunch break when the good Samaritan driver found her and called her to Ms Zuzani’s aid.
Ms Njapha found Ms Zuzani lying in the car, in the final stages of labour. The baby was lying in a breach position.
“She guided me to push and keep calm. While we were busy, more staff came with blankets,” Ms Zuzani said, explaining that the blankets were used to create privacy curtains.
Fifteen minutes later Nhanhlanhla Zuzani, which means lucky, was born, said Shameema Adams, Group Marketing Manager at the Melomed Head Office, adding that Melomed Mitchell’s Plain trauma staff cut the umbilical cord and took Ms Zuzani to the maternity ward.
Both the mother and baby were in good health, she said.
Ms Zuzani had been scheduled to have a caesarean delivery at the hospital later this month but Nhanhlanhla appears to have had other plans.
“I’m not even sure how I made it to the garage. The drive from home to the garage took 20 minutes and to the hospital 10 minutes. The man was driving really fast,” she said.
“Everything was not according to plan, my baby was in a breach position, where his feet came out first, but I happened to give birth normally and safely. Even the staff was shocked to see this happen. It was a miracle for me but God is the one to have the last say,” she said.
“I've never imagined giving birth in that manner. I wasn't sure how my day was going to turn out,” she said.
She remembers preparing her eldest son, 12, for school, that morning and sending him on his way. It was the first day of her maternity leave too.
“I couldn’t even sleep during the night. I had the urge to go to the bathroom all the time,” she said.
“I was very emotional. I couldn't stop crying. That was not how I planned to deliver my baby. I had a picture of everyone being around me but they were all at work. The timing wasn’t right but I was so thankful that the baby was okay,” she said.
Ms Zuzani works for a law firm as a client care agent.
“My eldest son is glad he can be a big brother. My partner, who does not want to be named, also felt weird. He was worried as he was at work and couldn’t make it on time but relieved that nothing bad happened and that the baby and I are safe,” she said.
Ms Adams confirmed the delivery happened at 12.20pm.
“We are grateful for the opportunity to have assisted them,” said Ms Adams. “We were touched to learn that the patient requested to meet with the nurse who assisted her, to express her immense gratitude and appreciation.”...