Baby born in ambulance on A1 towards Lisbon

A baby girl was born early Wednesday morning on the shoulder of the A1 motorway in the Alverca area, while her mother was being transported to São Francisco Xavier Hospital in Lisbon, as the gynecology and obstetrics emergency department at Vila Franca de Xira Hospital was closed. The birth was performed by a team from the Samora Correia Volunteer Firefighters, reported Notícias do Sorraia , and Observador confirmed it through an official source from the firefighters' association.

Bruno Pereira, deputy commander of the Samora Correia Fire Department, said the alert came shortly after 5:00 a.m.: a woman was going into labor about 50 kilometers from the Lisbon hospital. "When we received the call, we knew the situation required speed, but no one expected the baby to decide to be born so early," he said.

During the journey, the newborn, named Matilde, didn't wait for the hospital. The ambulance had to stop on the shoulder of the A1 highway, where firefighters António Pedro Correia and Lúcia Moreira performed the delivery. In a post on the Samora Correia Fire Department's social media, the firefighter described the experience as "blissful," highlighting the team's professionalism in an unexpected situation.

Matilde was born at 39 weeks and five days gestation. The birth was supported by the medical team from the Emergency Medical and Resuscitation Vehicle (VMER) in Vila Franca de Xira, who confirmed to Notícias do Sorraia that both mother and daughter were doing well.

This birth joins others that, in recent months, have occurred in ambulances on their way to hospitals—a reflection of the frequent closure of maternity wards serving the Greater Lisbon region. In July, a baby was born in an ambulance , also on the A1 motorway, after three hospitals were unable to accommodate the pregnant woman.

Firefighters reveal “another birth” in an ambulance on the A1 motorway due to the “unavailability” of three hospitals