The pregnant passenger suddenly went into labour aboard the flight
A woman gave birth to a baby shortly after unexpectedly going into labour aboard an international flight from Turkey to France. According to the New York Post, a Pegasus Airlines plane was making final preparations for take-off for a flight to Marseille in France when the incident happened. Footage of the dramatic event that has surfaced showed other passengers in shock after spotting a newborn baby being carried off the aircraft.
Notably, the pregnant passenger, whose identity has not been made public, suddenly went into labour aboard the flight while the crew was preparing for takeoff. The crew responded swiftly and calmly handled the situation. Emergency services and paramedics at the Sabiha Gokcen International Airport were immediately called in to assist with the birth. The woman was escorted away from her seat to another area of the aircraft, where the paramedics helped her deliver.
Moments later, a female paramedic emerged carrying the baby, who was wrapped in blue cloth, to the front of the plane. The baby, who was born prematurely and did not make any noise, was immediately taken to a nearby hospital via ambulance for further care.
Childbirth on airplanes is uncommon because pregnant women are rarely allowed to fly in their third trimester. However, this is not the first time a baby has been born on an aircraft or during a flight.
Last year, a woman passenger who didn’t know she was pregnant gave birth mid-flight after going to the bathroom with a stomach ache. The woman, identified as Tamara, was on a KLM Royal Dutch flight from Guyaquil, Ecuador to Amsterdam when she took everyone in the aircraft by surprise by unexpectedly giving birth. Ms Tamara was flying from Ecuador to her destination in Spain, with a stop at Schipol Airport outside Amsterdam.
According to a 2017 study published in the journal ”Aviation, Space, and Environmental Medicine,” the odds of a woman giving birth on a commercial flight are about 1 in 32,000.
Dr. Paulo Alves, the brand’s global medical director, told Conde Nast Traveler in 2018, ”It’s not the best place for you to have your child, for many reasons. For one thing, the air is thinner, so it’s harder for the baby to breathe. It’s like giving birth to a premature child in Mexico City, altitude-wise.”