Delivering a baby in the back of an ambulance is always risky—especially when complications arise. But on that morning, with the sun rising gently over the hills, I had no idea I was about to help bring new life into the world under the most challenging of circumstances.

I was midway through a two-week shift at the Uganda National Ambulance Call and Dispatch Center in Naguru when a call came in. A rural health facility urgently needed to evacuate a mother in labor to the national referral hospital for a caesarean section. I joined the driver in the ambulance, and we left immediately.

When we arrived at the health center, we found the mother already deep into labor. Her contractions were strong and close together. We acted fast, transferring her into the ambulance with everything set up for emergency care. The staff gave us clearance to proceed.

As we pulled away, a thought tugged at me — this mother might deliver before we even reached the hospital. The driver chuckled nervously and asked, “What if she delivers right here? Will you manage?”

I smiled and replied, “I will. I’ll do everything in my power to save her and the baby.”

Just five minutes into the journey, those words were tested. The mother cried out, and suddenly, one tiny leg emerged. The baby was in breech — feet first. One leg out, the other trapped. My training kicked in.

With 15 years of knowledge from training school and 14 years of field experience as an emergency care practitioner with Global Emergency Care (GEC), I remained calm. I gently maneuvered the second leg out, then the baby’s entire body, leaving only the head lodged inside the pelvis.

Using Lovset’s maneuver — a technique I had practiced countless times — I carefully turned the baby’s shoulders and released her head. And just like that, she was born.

I quickly clamped and tied the umbilical cord, then stimulated the baby to breathe. She let out a small cry, weak but growing stronger. Her APGAR score was 8 at one minute, and 10 at five — a strong start to life.

Soon after, the placenta was delivered intact. The mother was stable. The baby was healthy. Both were safe.

This is what Global Emergency Care stands for — equipping local providers with lifesaving emergency care skills and ensuring that critical help reaches people wherever they are, whenever they need it.

That morning, in the back of a moving ambulance, two lives could have been lost. But they weren’t. Because of training. Because of preparedness. Because someone was there who knew what to do.