High-risk mother airlifted 240 km after waters break, delivers safely

In the early hours of the morning, a high-risk pregnant woman's water broke. She had gestational diabetes, and her baby was in a breech position. Every minute counted. Fire authorities dispatched a helicopter, which flew hundreds of kilometers to reach a suitable hospital. The mother delivered safely.

South Chungcheong Province's fire headquarters said the incident took place Oct. 8, Yonhap reported Friday.

At around 4 a.m., emergency services received a 119 call reporting that a pregnant woman's water had broken in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province. With gestational diabetes and a breech presentation, the situation demanded the fastest possible medical response.

Paramedics from the Gyeonggi Province unit arrived on the scene and initially transported the mother to an obstetrics clinic in Pyeongtaek.

The clinic, however, was not equipped to handle her condition. She needed to be transferred elsewhere — and because the baby was at risk of being born premature, the receiving hospital also had to have a neonatal intensive care unit.

A university hospital in Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province, met the requirements. The problem was distance: it was roughly 240 kilometers from Pyeongtaek, a journey that would take about four hours by ambulance.

Fire authorities turned to a helicopter. They requested aerial support from South Chungcheong Province's fire headquarters, as the Gyeonggi Province fire helicopter was unavailable at the time.

South Chungcheong Province's fire headquarters responded, deploying a helicopter that flew the mother to the Changwon university hospital in about an hour. She delivered safely, and both mother and baby were reported to be in good health.

"We will make active use of the aerial transport system to ensure emergency patients receive timely treatment, and will also strengthen our cooperation network with medical institutions," a South Chungcheong Province fire headquarters official said.

A similar case unfolded earlier this month, when a woman 35 weeks pregnant living in Anseong, Gyeonggi Province, was turned away by 25 hospitals before being airlifted to Jeonju, North Jeolla Province, where she delivered safely.

According to Jeonju Jesus Hospital, a 119 call came in at around 2:07 a.m. Thursday from Anseong reporting that a 35-weeks-pregnant woman's amniotic fluid was leaking. Paramedics determined she faced a high risk of preterm birth and fetal infection due to premature rupture of membranes. They contacted 25 hospitals — including those operating high-risk maternal and newborn integrated care centers in Gyeonggi Province, Seoul and the Chungcheong provinces — but all said they could not admit her, Yonhap reported.

None of the hospitals could immediately secure the medical staff and beds needed to handle both a high-risk delivery and intensive neonatal care at the same time.

The National Fire Agency contacted Jesus Hospital at around 3:30 a.m. to request assistance, and the hospital agreed to accept the patient. The woman arrived by fire helicopter after traveling about 150 kilometers and delivered safely at around 5:16 a.m.