Indian mother delivers baby on boat as her river island is inundated by floodwaters
A blue tarp covered a mother and her newborn daughter from the incessant rain on their boat journey. Jahanara Khatoon, 25, had just given birth on the boat on their way to a healthcare center, surrounded by the raging floodwaters of the Brahmaputra River.
“I am very happy," said her husband, Kamaluddin, who was also on the boat. "My wife wanted a boy, but Allah has given me a girl and I’m very satisfied. I don’t want to have any more children.”
The couple had left their home on Phuliamari Char, one of the islands in the river, after it was inundated by floodwaters, taking shelter on a nearby island known as Chars.
Increased rainfall in the region blamed on climate change has made the Brahmaputra River — already known for its powerful, unpredictable flow — even more dangerous for those who live near it or on the more than 2,000 islands in it.
Health officers hold up a tarpaulin to cover 25-year-old Jahanara Khatoon as she delivers a baby on a boat over the River Brahmaputra, in the northeastern Indian state of Assam, Wednesday, July 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath)
India, and Assam state in particular, is seen as one of the world’s most vulnerable regions to climate change because of increasingly intense rain and floods, according to a 2021 report by the Council on Energy, Environment and Water, a New Delhi-based climate think tank.
Khatoon and Kamaluddin earn their living as farmers on their island in Assam state’s Morigaon district.
A medical team was visiting flooded Chars to aid those who needed medical help, especially pregnant women. The team convinced Khatoon to travel with them to the nearest medical facility across the river.
Diluwara Begum, a midwife, holds up a newborn baby after helping in her delivery on a boat over the River Brahmaputra, in the northeastern Indian state of Assam, Wednesday, July 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath)
The baby couldn’t wait for Khatoon to get to the healthcare center. As her labor progressed, the team on the boat quickly got to work, holding up a tarp to protect from the rain as they helped with the delivery.
Within 10 minutes the baby emerged to shouts of celebration.
Diluwara Begum, an auxiliary nurse and midwife, lifted the newborn and whispered prayers into her ears.
“This was my first time helping deliver a baby on a boat. It was a very different feeling. It feels good.” she said.
The family has named the baby Karima, which means “Giving.”
Jahanara Khatoon, 25, who is in the final stages of pregnancy, sits holding her daughter in Sandoh Khaiti Char, in the northeastern Indian state of Assam, Wednesday, July 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath)
Health officers perform a blood test on 25-year-old Jahanara Khatoon, who is in the final stages of pregnancy, in Sandoh Khaiti Char, in the northeastern Indian state of Assam, Wednesday, July 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath)
A medical officer checks the eyes of 25-year-old Jahanara Khatoon, who is in the final stages of pregnancy, in Sandoh Khaiti Char, in the northeastern Indian state of Assam, Wednesday, July 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath)
Jahanara Khatoon boards a boat on her way to a health centre, in Sandoh Khaiti Char, in the northeastern Indian state of Assam, Wednesday, July 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath)
Jahanara Khatoon, 25, who is in the final stages of pregnancy, travels on a boat on her way to a health centre, in Sandoh Khaiti Char, in the northeastern Indian state of Assam, Wednesday, July 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath)
Jahanara Khatoon,25, who is in the final stages of pregnancy, travels on a boat on her way to a health center, in Sandoh Khaiti Char, in the northeastern Indian state of Assam, Wednesday, July 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath)
Jahanara Khatoon, 25, who is in the final stages of pregnancy, lies in pain with onset of labour as health officers hold a tarpaulin to give her cover, over the River Brahmaputra, in the northeastern Indian state of Assam, Wednesday, July 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath)
Kamaluddin with his 5-year-old son, Azrahul Islam, watch as health officers aid his wife Jahanara Khatoon in delivering a baby over the River Brahmaputra, in the northeastern Indian state of Assam, Wednesday, July 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath)
A member of a medical team holds up the hand of Kamaluddin as they celebrate the successful delivery of his newborn baby girl on a boat on her way to a health center, over the River Brahmaputra, in the northeastern Indian state of Assam, Wednesday, July 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath)
Diluwara Begum, a midwife, whispers prayers into the ear of a newborn baby she helped deliver on a boat over the River Brahmaputra, in the northeastern Indian state of Assam, Wednesday, July 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath)
Jahanara Khatoon nurses her newborn daughter, born on the boat over the river Brahmaputra, in the northeastern Indian state of Assam, Wednesday, July 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath)
Jahanara Khatoon leaves a boat with her newborn baby, on their way to a health center, in Morigaon district, in the northeastern Indian state of Assam, Wednesday, July 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath)
Jahanara Khatoon nurses her newborn daughter as the family sits inside an ambulance on the way to a healthcare centre in Morigaon district, in the northeastern Indian state of Assam, Wednesday, July 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath)
Text from AP News story, Indian mother delivers baby on boat as her river island is inundated by floodwaters, by Anupam Nath
Photos by Anupam Nath