Hamad Medical Corporation’s (HMC) labour and delivery teams safely delivered a baby recently after a woman was involved in a road traffic accident while in labour on the way to Women’s Wellness and Research Center (WWRC).
Muna Abdelawel, from Eritrea, was 36 weeks pregnant when she experienced labour pains. With her husband Ibrahim driving, and accompanied by their three-year-old daughter, they began their journey to WWRC. While on the way to the hospital, their car was hit hard from behind by another vehicle and Abdelawel and her daughter were both violently thrown forward, causing them to sustain head lacerations.
"More than 25,000 babies are born each year under the expert care of Hamad Medical Corporation’s (HMC) labour and delivery teams and the vast majority of these deliveries take place as planned. However, on February 23, things did not go as expected for one mother when she was involved in a road traffic accident while in labour on the way to WWRC," HMC said in a statement.
Ibrahim immediately called 999 and an ambulance was on the scene within minutes. The paramedics treated Abdelawel and her daughter and transported the entire family to Hamad General Hospital (HGH).
Asmaa al-Atey, director of Trauma Nursing, explained that while on the way to HGH, the paramedics informed the HGH trauma team that they were bringing in a mother who was in labour.
“We have processes in place that alert clinical teams in the Trauma Section about high priority patients who are on their way to HGH. Part of this process enables any pregnant woman with trauma injuries to be immediately admitted to the Trauma Section without the need for the usual assessments at the Emergency Department. This advanced warning helped the trauma team prepare for Abdelawel’s arrival and meant they could immediately alert the on-call gynaecologist from WWRC,” explained al-Atey.
On arrival at HGH, Abdelawel was admitted to the Trauma Resuscitation Unit where she was received by the trauma team, while her daughter was rushed to the Emergency Department for immediate treatment of her facial injuries.
Dr Neven Mustafa, the on-call gynecologist, arrived moments later.
“It was clear that Ms Abdelawel was in the advanced stages of labour and that her baby would be born very soon. Dr Abu Baker, the trauma team leader, assessed her facial injuries and a decision was made to prioritise the mother’s delivery needs and carry out the full range of head assessments after the birth,” said Dr Mustafa.
Within minutes, Abdelawel delivered her second daughter, baby Entesar. The WWRC neonatologist assessed baby Entesar while Abdelawel underwent a CT scan and full assessment. Following confirmation of no serious complications due to her facial injuries, both mother and baby were transferred to the WWRC where baby Entesar was admitted to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit for observation.
Baby Entesar was discharged three days later and the entire family is now fully recovered from their eventful experience and thankful for the way in which HMC’s care teams responded to this unusual set of circumstances.
“Giving birth to baby Entesar was certainly not the way we had planned it. I was very nervous as I have suffered six miscarriages in the past so I was hoping for a smooth delivery. However, thanks to the expertise of the paramedics, trauma team and staff from WWRC, we all got through the experience safely,” said Abdelawel.
“On behalf of my entire family, I would like to thank everyone at HMC for the way in which they responded and for the care and compassion they displayed to my family. Baby Entesar is a ray of sunshine and is, of course, totally unaware of the unexpected nature of her entry into this world. It will be a great story to tell her when she is a few years older,” added Ibrahim.
"More than 25,000 babies are born each year under the expert care of Hamad Medical Corporation’s (HMC) labour and delivery teams and the vast majority of these deliveries take place as planned. However, on February 23, things did not go as expected for one mother when she was involved in a road traffic accident while in labour on the way to WWRC," HMC said in a statement.
Ibrahim immediately called 999 and an ambulance was on the scene within minutes. The paramedics treated Abdelawel and her daughter and transported the entire family to Hamad General Hospital (HGH).
Asmaa al-Atey, director of Trauma Nursing, explained that while on the way to HGH, the paramedics informed the HGH trauma team that they were bringing in a mother who was in labour.
“We have processes in place that alert clinical teams in the Trauma Section about high priority patients who are on their way to HGH. Part of this process enables any pregnant woman with trauma injuries to be immediately admitted to the Trauma Section without the need for the usual assessments at the Emergency Department. This advanced warning helped the trauma team prepare for Abdelawel’s arrival and meant they could immediately alert the on-call gynaecologist from WWRC,” explained al-Atey.
On arrival at HGH, Abdelawel was admitted to the Trauma Resuscitation Unit where she was received by the trauma team, while her daughter was rushed to the Emergency Department for immediate treatment of her facial injuries.
Dr Neven Mustafa, the on-call gynecologist, arrived moments later.
“It was clear that Ms Abdelawel was in the advanced stages of labour and that her baby would be born very soon. Dr Abu Baker, the trauma team leader, assessed her facial injuries and a decision was made to prioritise the mother’s delivery needs and carry out the full range of head assessments after the birth,” said Dr Mustafa.
Within minutes, Abdelawel delivered her second daughter, baby Entesar. The WWRC neonatologist assessed baby Entesar while Abdelawel underwent a CT scan and full assessment. Following confirmation of no serious complications due to her facial injuries, both mother and baby were transferred to the WWRC where baby Entesar was admitted to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit for observation.
Baby Entesar was discharged three days later and the entire family is now fully recovered from their eventful experience and thankful for the way in which HMC’s care teams responded to this unusual set of circumstances.
“Giving birth to baby Entesar was certainly not the way we had planned it. I was very nervous as I have suffered six miscarriages in the past so I was hoping for a smooth delivery. However, thanks to the expertise of the paramedics, trauma team and staff from WWRC, we all got through the experience safely,” said Abdelawel.
“On behalf of my entire family, I would like to thank everyone at HMC for the way in which they responded and for the care and compassion they displayed to my family. Baby Entesar is a ray of sunshine and is, of course, totally unaware of the unexpected nature of her entry into this world. It will be a great story to tell her when she is a few years older,” added Ibrahim.
