Picking up a man, his heavily pregnant wife and a woman friend of theirs, in Bukit Bintang for the ride to the Sentul Medical Centre on Thursday evening, there was no doubt what first ran through Grace’s mind.
“I asked her husband if his wife was in pain. He said ‘Only slight pain’,” she was quoted as saying by the daily.
According to the 45-year-old full-time Grab driver, there was no time for any more niceties after the pregnant passenger started screaming all of a sudden.
“She said she could feel the water breaking, and she really could not stand the pain, so she was screaming and screaming,” Grace told the Star, adding that she was told the woman’s due date was still a week away.
With the rush hour traffic crawling forward, Grace, who has been driving for Grab for four months decided to turn fast and furious, winding her way through traffic and arriving at the hospital in just under 30 minutes.
“The minute I stopped the car at the entrance, the baby was already out, right in front of the hospital,” she was quoted as saying.
After informing the security guard, she attended to her passengers plus one as they waited for the nurses outside the emergency entrance.
Grace was happy to note that the immediate care for the baby boy, including cutting the umbilical cord, and his mother made the harrowing ride all worth it.
After getting the car cleaned, she got the rest she deserved for the night and was pleasantly surprised to receive a call from Grab the next morning with a message of thanks from the proud parents of the newborn.
“They didn’t have my number, so they informed the Grab office to pass on their compliments.
“I’m really happy because I helped save two lives – be proud of Grab drivers! All glory to God,” she said, according to The Star.
This is not the first case of a baby being born in a ride-sharing service.
On Dec 3 last year, a woman gave birth to her baby, with her father-in-law and mother-in-law and her first child in tow, during a Uber ride from Nilai, Negeri Sembilan to the Pantai Hospital in Bangsar, Kuala Lumpur.
That turned out well too, with both mother and child in good health after arriving at the hospital.