Access to Damaged Health Centre, Pregnant Woman in Mamuju Gives Birth on the Road

A woman named Ratna in Mamuju Regency, West Sulawesi (Sulbar), gave birth en route to the nearest health centre. The damaged and bumpy access to the health centre means the road can only be traversed by hardtop vehicles or trail motorcycles.

According to detiksulsel, the incident took place in Kopeang Village, Tapalang Subdistrict, Mamuju, on Tuesday afternoon (24/3). Ratna gave birth on the road when the hardtop had already travelled about 5 kilometres (km) from the village.

“When setting off on the journey, she gave birth; the journey wasn’t too far, about 5 km from the village,” said the Secretary of Kopeang Village (Sekdes), Karmin, when contacted by reporters on Thursday (26/3/2026).

Karmin stated that Ratna’s condition is now improving. The baby she was carrying was also born safely.

“Alhamdulillah, she’s a bit better, she’s returned to the village; after giving birth, she requested to be carried back to the village,” he explained.

He added that Kopeang Village actually has an auxiliary health centre (Pustu) with one midwife and two nurses. However, the Pustu facilities are not yet adequate, so many sick villagers end up being taken to the Tapalang Health Centre.