A s the 4x4 raced south, bouncing across Mongolia’s rocky valley roads and dusty forest steppes, an obstetrician was doing her best to ease Otgonbayar Odbayar’s pain and panic.

Hours earlier, the reindeer herder’s waters had broken. But Otgonbayar was six weeks early – and almost 250 miles away from the doctors who could provide the caesarean she knew she needed.

She contacted the nearest clinic, kicking off a relay of calls that spanned the length of Khuvsgul, a region bordering Russia. Soon, a plan came back through the chain: one health team would collect the 26-year-old and sprint south, while doctors from the provincial hospital in Murun would hurtle north. They’d meet in the middle.

Otgonbayar Odbayar with her new baby

Credit : The Telegraph/Simon Townsley

But Otgonbayar’s three-hour journey was touch and go. “Halfway through, her contractions got very intense and very close together,” said Dr Baasanjargal Tsogbadrakh, the obstetrician who collected her. “She was in a lot of pain.…