Dubai: A 37-year-old Filipina who went into labor while about to be airborne, delivered a baby at the Dubai International Airport Clinic after she was deplaned, Dubai Health Authority (DHA) officials said.
The baby boy, named Matteo Fahad, weighing 3.2kg was born to Carmilla Flores, at the International Airport’s Terminal 1 Clinic on May 19, reported Gulf News.
The woman, who was two weeks over due, was on her way to Manila and flying with Philippine Airlines.
A DHA doctor on duty reportedly said that he helped deliver the baby with his bare hands as there was no time for the mother to be taken to the hospital.
However, the baby’s arrival has given birth to conflicting accounts from DHA and the Dubai Corporation and Ambulance Service (DCAS), said the Dubai-based news portal.
While the mother reportedly confirmed on Thursday that the doctor from the DHA did deliver the baby at the airport clinic, a statement on behalf of DCAS claimed that its paramedics delivered the baby before the doctor arrived.
“The woman could not wait till the doctor arrived, and delivered the baby with the help of the paramedics from the Maternity and Childhood ambulances with no complications. The woman went into labor just before her flight, which she did not board, and her parents sought people’s help who called the ambulance services. Paramedics from the airport’s ambulances services office got to the woman within two minutes and helped her,” read the statement.
However, Flores was quoted as saying that the paramedics did help her but the baby was delivered by the DHA doctor.
Three weeks after the incident, both mother and baby, now at their home in Dubai, are doing well.
This is Flores’ third baby and she is happy she did not have to leave her other children behind and fly to Manila for her delivery, reported Gulf News.
