A woman who is unaware that she’s an expecting mother gave birth on a plane going to Hawaii.
Lavinia Mounga boarded a Delta Airlines flight from Salt Lake City, Utah to Hawaii on April 28 for a family vacation when she had premature labor.
Luckily, a doctor and a team of NICU nurses were also on board and helped her deliver the baby safely.
She gave birth to a premature baby boy Raymond just 29 weeks into her pregnancy.
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Hawaii-based Dr. Dale Glenn along with neonatal intensive care nurses Lani Bamfield, Amanda Beeding and Mimi Ho helped Mounga on her premature delivery.
“About halfway through the flight, there was an emergency call, and I’ve experienced this before and usually they’re pretty clear asking if there is a doctor on board. This call was not like this and it was fairly urgent,” Glenn said in a press release.
“We’re all trying to work in a very small, confined space in an airplane, which is pretty challenging. But the teamwork was great,” he added.
The team used shoe laces to cut the umbilical cord and microwave bottles to keep the baby warm.
They also monitor the baby’s heart rate until the plane landed with the help of an Apple watch.
Mounga and her baby were kept stable in the remaining three hours of the flight before they were transported to a hospital upon landing in Honolulu.
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Mounga told local media that she was overwhelmed and feeling lucky that there was a medical team that helped her deliver the baby.
“It just feels comforting and everyone’s willing to help and always checking on us,” she said.
The baby is currently under neonatal intensive care until he is healthy enough to be flown in Utah. (RA)
