Coastguards in the Belgian municipality of De Panne successfully resuscitated a premature baby after a woman gave birth in the public toilets on the beach this weekend.
A woman ran to the lifeguards on the beach after her daughter had just given birth in the public toilets on Sunday morning. The baby was born prematurely and showed no sign of life.
One of the coastguards immediately began to resuscitate the baby, and with success. The baby was taken to hospital and is said to be stable, but the situation left a deep impression on the guards.
"We will still sit together to process the emotions," deputy chief coastguard Filip Jongbloet told VRT. "I have to make sure that my team members, all between the ages of 18 and 26, deal with this experience well."
"It is not self-evident for someone to suddenly resuscitate a premature baby. We do learn how to do it during our training, but in practice, it is by no means obvious. I am proud of my team," he said.
