KOCHI: Giving birth on a flight is not something unheard of, but the state of mind of each individual on board witnessing the event, especially the fellow travellers, is beyond imagination. But, rest assured, there will be nurses and doctors nearby, given the famed Malayali presence in the healthcare sector, especially nurses, globally. And hence, there’s always help at hand, even if an emergency arises midair.
A similar incident took place on Tuesday morning on Air India’s flight from London to Kochi. A Keralite woman who boarded the flight with her family experienced labour pain after the flight took off from London and was crossing over the Black Sea, a large inland sea situated at the southeastern extremity of Europe. The 29-week pregnant woman was lucky enough as the Kerala-bound flight had two doctors and four nurses to help her deliver the baby boy.
Shinu Suresh, a Kollam-based co-passenger on the flight, shared on his Twitter handle how the Air India cabin crew, health professionals and passengers extended all help they could offer to the mother and newborn.
“The flight turned into an operation theatre in a short span. All passengers were trying to help them in one way or another. Indeed, teamwork,” he tweeted.
An Air India spokesperson said the doctors informed the crew that both the mother and newborn needed medical care at the earliest. “The situation was intense. We took the necessary steps and arrangements for the flight to land in Frankfurt and arrange a medical team at the airport to carry the mother and newborn to the hospital safely,” the spokesperson.
The spokesperson told TNIE that the woman complained of stomach pain after she had her meal on the flight. She informed the cabin crew that she was seven months pregnant and was going into labour. The flight had sufficient medical supplies (first aid kits and universal precaution kit (UPK) and physician kit) to perform the delivery. Hence, the baby was born prematurely, both the mother and baby needed medical care at the earliest, the doctors informed the crew. Thus, the flight was diverted to Frankfurt.
“The mother, newborn and a family member of the woman were deboarded at Frankfurt airport,” he added.
The flight reached Kochi airport at 9.45am on Wednesday. “The AI-150 crew members were felicitated at the airport for their timely action,” said an official at CIAL. “The flight was supposed to reach Kochi at 3.45am. It had more than 170 passengers on board,” he added.
The Kollam-based passenger tweeted an update on the mother and baby he got from the medics who helped with the delivery. “Spoke to the medics who helped deliver the baby. Both mom and baby are doing well,” he tweeted.