‘Universe's biggest blessing': Woman and friend assist neighbour to give birth at home

Straits Times

9 hours ago

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Ms Latashni Gobi Nathan (left) at her neighbour Leena's gate after paramedics left following the home delivery of a baby girl.
SINGAPORE – A routine evening at home turned into a life-changing moment on Aug 10 for Ms Latashni Gobi Nathan, when she and her best friend helped her next-door neighbour deliver a baby.
While watching the post-National Day celebrations on the rooftop of their Punggol Housing Board block, the neighbour – Ms Leena – told others around them that she was having contractions, according to Ms Latashni, 35.
Ms Leena then asked Ms Latashni and her husband to help care for her two daughters if she needed to head to hospital the next day, which they agreed.
Ms Latashni, a senior assistant manager for communications, was then having dinner with her husband and her friend at their home when Ms Leena's husband, Mr Zuk, suddenly approached the couple for help at about 10.15pm.
'I ran over and saw Leena kneeling near the entrance, having painful contractions,' she said.
Ms Latashni stepped in to help her neighbour, together with her friend Sangeetha, who is a mother. Within minutes, Ms Leena's water bag burst and the baby girl arrived soon after, at around 10.30pm, with Mr Zuk helping to pull the newborn out safely.
'It felt like an hour, but it was just 15 minutes,' said Ms Latashni, who does not have children.
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'We were shocked for a moment, but then everything just happened so quickly – the baby started crying, the paramedics arrived, and Leena was holding her child.'
She and Ms Sangeetha helped to comfort the couple's older daughter and to clean up the flat, while the younger daughter was asleep. The paramedics helped to cut the baby's umbilical cord, and left after checking that both mother and baby were fine, according to Ms Latashni.
She recounted this incident in an Instagram post on Aug 15, where she said that she and Ms Sangeetha 'found ourselves in the most remarkable, life-changing moment we have ever experienced'.
She described the experience as 'the universe's biggest blessing' and said it forged an unbreakable bond between her family and her neighbours.
Ms Latashni told The Straits Times that she and her husband have always been close to Ms Leena and her family, as they share a corner with only two units on their floor.
'For the past two years, we've cleaned and decorated our corridors together, and even planned to change our gates at the same time,' she said.
'They trusted us without question – and this incident really took the relationship to the next level.'
She added that the experience has made her reflect on the importance of neighbourly ties.
'In Singapore we're always in a rush, or don't want to communicate. But if you think of the big picture, the meaning of life is to have people around you. This showed me how important it is to just be a bit more friendly and kind – you never know what blessings you'll receive.'
Adding to the joy, Ms Latashni has since been named godmother to the newborn.
'The sweetest part? I'm now officially Godma to this little princess,' she wrote in the Instagram post.