Dubai: Next time you see a female paramedic dressed in pink, bear in mind that she is on a mission to save two lives at a time.

The Dubai Centre for Ambulance Services has started a free ambulance service, the Ambulance for Maternity and Childhood, to cater to pregnancy issues and pay more attention to pregnant women during the difficult hours before reaching the hospital.

"A survey we did showed that a majority of women surveyed supported the idea of a dedicated ambulance to deal with pregnancy issues. There was also the need looking at the traditions of society, as it is more comfortable to have female medics attending to women," said Dr Omar Al Saqqaf, emergency medicine consultant at the centre.

The ambulance began operating in July and is already proving to be a success.

"According to statistics, the ambulance has attended to 376 cases between birth cases, miscarriages and womb bleedings," Dr Al Saqqaf said.

There are currently eight trained female paramedics and midwives who are experienced and have been given extensive training to deal with such cases.

The aim behind allocating a special ambulance to cater to pregnancy and birth related cases is to provide advanced motherhood emergency service and buy time to save and keep the lives of the mother and the child.

The ambulance is operated in coordination with Al Wasl Hospital, which receives pregnancy-related cases.

"Despite its recent launch, this ambulance service is proving a success, not only among women, who prefer a lady to lady service, but also among men who are more comfortable knowing women are attending to their wives, sisters, or female relatives in such critical situations," Dr Al Saqqaf said.

The information required by the centre from the patient includes the expected date of birth, personal information such as name and telephone number and the specific location.

Keithley, a paramedic for four years, has more experience with pregnancy-related cases. She told Gulf News that the most difficult case she encountered so far was a case of "placenta previa". Placenta previa is generally defined as the implantation of the placenta over or near the internal opening of the cervix. It is an obstetric complication that occurs in the second and third trimesters of pregnancy and may cause serious morbidity and mortality to both the fetus and the mother.

"The baby survived in this case because the mother knew about her condition and had informed us when we arrived to help her," she said.

The Ambulance for Maternity and Childhood can be reached by calling 04-6095777 or the emergency number 999 which will transfer the call to the ambulance centre.