South Korean woman gives birth in ambulance after 40 hospitals say no
A pregnant woman in South Korea gave birth in an ambulance after being turned away by 40 hospitals.
Her case has sparked fresh concerns about the country’s healthcare crisis, coming just days before a similar incident involving a Vietnamese woman.
The woman, who is in her early 20s, was 34 weeks pregnant when she went into labour in Gyeonggi Province.
After reaching out to emergency services at 12:42 a.m. on March 10, paramedics quickly arrived and assessed her condition.
However, after an hour of contacting hospitals in Seoul, Gyeonggi, and Chungnam, local reports indicate that all 40 hospitals refused to admit her, with most saying they had no available medical staff.
At 1:48 a.m., Seoul Medical Centre said they could take her but by then, she was in intense pain, and her water had already broken.
Paramedics had no choice but to deliver the baby inside the moving ambulance. She gave birth to a baby boy at 2:11 a.m., about 90 minutes after calling for help.
The mother and baby were taken to Seoul Medical Center at 2:36 a.m. for further care. Both were reported to be in stable condition.
This case comes just days after another pregnant woman, a Vietnamese national, was turned away by 13 hospitals before giving birth in an ambulance on March 16.
South Korea has been facing a growing healthcare crisis, with hospitals rejecting more emergency patients due to a shortage of doctors and medical staff.
The problem has worsened because of mass doctor strikes over government plans to increase medical school admissions.
