A pregnant woman in South Korea’s Gyeonggi Province was forced to give birth in an ambulance after being turned away by 40 hospitals, fire officials announced Tuesday. This marks the second such incident in recent days, highlighting the country’s deepening healthcare crisis.
The woman, in her early 20s and 34 weeks pregnant, went into labour and called South Korea’s emergency number 119 at 12:42 a.m. on March 10, according to the Korean Emergency Firefighters Union.
After evaluating her condition, paramedics spent an hour contacting 40 hospitals across Seoul, Gyeonggi, and Chungnam provinces. All facilities declined to admit her, with most citing unavailable medical staff as the reason.
At 1:48 a.m., Seoul Medical Centre in Jungnang District finally agreed to take the patient. By then, however, her water had broken, and she was experiencing severe labour pains.
Paramedics were forced to perform an emergency delivery inside the moving ambulance. The woman gave birth to a baby boy at 2:11 a.m., approximately 90 minutes after her initial emergency call. Both mother and child were eventually transported to Seoul Medical Centre at 2:36 a.m. and were reported to be in stable condition, according to Yonhap News Agency.
This incident follows a similar case reported on March 16, when a Vietnamese pregnant woman was rejected by 13 hospitals and also gave birth in an ambulance.
The incidents occurred amid a worsening healthcare staff shortage in South Korea, exacerbated by ongoing mass doctor strikes protesting the government’s plan to expand medical school admissions. Hospital rejections of emergency patients have been increasing as the healthcare crisis continues to deepen.
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