You may or may not have seen the TikTok of the woman who miraculously gave birth to a healthy baby boy over the Atlantic Ocean.
The woman, who was only 27 weeks pregnant, unexpectedly went into labor on a flight from Salt Lake City to Hawaii. She reports that she didn’t even know that she was pregnant!
Miraculously, there happened to be a family medicine physician as well as three neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) nurses on board to support with delivery and stabilize the mother and child until they landed.
At 27 weeks, the baby boy is considered premature with a survival rate of 82% without NICU care and 90% with NICU care. These statistics may seem promising, however giving birth in an aircraft with pressure changes, limited medical supplies, and an extremely unsterile environment creates additional risks for both the baby and mother.
Due to the limited supplies onboard, the nurses had to get creative to keep both baby and mom safe. For example, they used an apple watch to monitor the baby’s heart rate.
The passengers quietly applauded and offered congratulations as the mother and baby safely disembarked the plane three hours later.
