Since his days in medical school, Dr. Amos Fruman, a senior pediatric surgeon at Hadassah, has devoted much of his career to pediatric surgery. Delivering babies, especially in the middle of a roadside gas station, has been a far less common professional experience.

When he noticed a woman in active labor with the baby’s head already emerging, Dr. Fruman quickly transformed a gas station on Highway 443 into an improvised delivery room and successfully assisted in bringing the newborn safely into the world.

“In medicine, you learn that when something unexpected happens, the most important thing is to stay focused,” he says.

Dr. Amos Fruman, a senior pediatric surgeon at Hadassah, recently experienced a dramatic and emotional moment when he helped deliver a baby after a woman went into active labor at a gas station on Highway 443, a major route to Jerusalem from the Modiin area of central Israel.

The veteran physician stopped to fill up his car and ended up changing the course of a young couple’s trip to Hadassah Ein Kerem .“If someone had asked me that morning what my evening would look like, this certainly would not have been the scenario I imagined,” Dr. Fruman says with a smile.

The evening began routinely. After a family gathering at Dr. Fruman’s home in Maccabim, he decided to drive an elderly relative back to her home. The drive proceeded normally. At one point, while traveling along Highway 443, he began debating whether to stop for fuel. “I went back and forth about it,” he recalls. “I thought maybe I could keep going a little longer and refuel later.” Eventually, after the relative insisted that he stop, he pulled into a gas station. What seemed like a small decision would later prove to be the turning point of the evening.

Shortly after pulling up to the pump, Dr. Fruman noticed unusual activity near another vehicle. Inside, were a couple from Jerusalem who had been returning from a visit in Modiin and were on their way to Hadassah Ein Kerem. The woman was in advanced pregnancy and experiencing contractions.

At first, the couple believed they would make it to the hospital on their own. This was their second child, and they did not think an ambulance was needed. They set out for Hadassah Ein Kerem by car, expecting to arrive in time.

As the journey progressed, however, it became clear that the labor was advancing much faster than anticipated.

“While they were on the road, she told her husband that the baby’s head was already halfway out, so he pulled into the gas station,” Dr. Fruman explains. “The moment I saw what was happening, it was obvious there was no time to wait,” he recalls. “I understood that we were probably not going to make it to a delivery room.”

Within seconds, Dr. Fruman shifted from passerby to the person in charge. He approached the vehicle, assessed the circumstances, and began giving instructions. “The most important thing in a situation like this is to remain calm,” he says.

The gas station instantly became an improvised delivery suite. Dr. Fruman turned to the station employees and asked them to bring clean towels, turning bystanders into helpers. “They immediately stepped up,” he says. “Everyone wanted to help.”

He then guided the mother on how to position herself and which postures might help facilitate the delivery, keeping the effort focused and orderly. “I could see that the labor was progressing very quickly,” he says. “It was clear that the baby had no intention of waiting.”

And so, with Dr. Fruman by her side in the middle of a gas station on Highway 443, the baby was born. “Within minutes, he was out,” Dr. Fruman says.

Despite decades in medicine, he describes the experience as truly unique—not only because of the unusual circumstances but also because delivering babies has never been part of his routine professional practice. “I hadn’t done this since medical school,” he says with a laugh. “Suddenly, you find yourself returning to something you learned decades ago.”

Experience counted too. Decades of dealing with complex medical situations had also prepared him for this moment. “In medicine, you learn that when something unexpected happens, the most important thing is to stay focused,” he says.

After the birth, additional medical teams were dispatched to the scene. The mother and baby were examined and found to be in good condition, and continued on to Hadassah Ein Kerem, as originally planned, for further care and observation.

For the young family, it was an unforgettable birth experience.

For Dr. Fruman, it was an extraordinary moment that brought together personal and professional chapters of his life. “What amazes me most is how accidental it all was,” he says. “I still think about how many coincidences had to happen for all of us to be in exactly the same place at exactly the same time.”

 

Photo: Dr. Amos Fruman

Credit: Hadassah Spokesperson’s Office