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(CNN) — Let’s talk about a memorable arrival into the world, or, in this case, above the world.
Last weekend, a woman went into labor on a flight from Ghana, a West African nation, to the United States.
This happened on United Airlines Flight 997, which departed from Kotoka International Airport in Accra, the capital of Ghana, and was headed to Washington Dulles International Airport for an 11-hour journey.
Afghan woman gives birth aboard US evacuation plane
They had been in the air for about six hours when the woman went into labor, United Airlines told CNN Travel in an email Monday night.
Fortunately for the mother, a doctor, a nurse and a United flight attendant, who had worked in nursing, were on board the Boeing 787-8 ready to help.
“Our team was amazing,” United wrote in a statement to CNN Travel. “They acted quickly, assisted the medical professionals on board and made sure everyone was safe throughout the flight.
“And we were especially excited to see the plane land with an extra, especially beautiful, customer on board.”
Airport paramedics greeted the flight upon arrival in the United States at 5:41 a.m. on Sunday, January 30.
Witness: ‘I started praying’
Tiani Warren from Los Angeles was on United Flight 997. He was returning from a three-week trip to Ghana, where he visited the Genesis Shishidzee School in Jamestown, an old suburb of Accra, to help children there. She told CNN Travel that she was in business class and that the woman who gave birth was in the row behind her, although they were separated by the emergency exits. That meant the woman in labor had room in front of her seat to lie down.
“I was asleep. …I thought I was dreaming when I heard moaning. I got up from my seat and saw someone on the ground. A nurse was on her,” Warren said.
It took Warren a minute to fully realize what was happening.
When she did, “I thought, ‘Oh, God, I know she’s not going to give birth on this plane. She was literally counting her contractions, seven to 10 minutes apart. I was, like, freaking out. Oh my God”.
“Then the doctor started working on her. They brought an IV to put her in,” Warren said. “She was moaning and screaming, but half the people on the plane didn’t know what was going on.”
To add to the tension: The plane encountered turbulence during parts of the flight, Warren said.
“I started praying for her out loud when she started to push. She was crying. Before you knew it, the baby was out.”
‘I’m glad the baby is okay’
After a while, “the baby let out a loud cry. … Living something as close and personal as that, Lord Jesus, help us all. I’m glad the baby is okay.”
The birth took place on the cabin floor in the space provided for emergency exits, Warren said. She thinks it all took about two and a half hours. Nearby passengers remained in their seats as the drama unfolded.
The mother cleaned herself up and returned to her seat before landing, Warren said.
Warren said the new mother told him that she is Ghanaian but lives in New York City and that the doctor on the flight who treated her was also from Ghana.
She summed it up in an Instagram post:
“I literally just witnessed a woman giving birth on the plane. And… I’m stressed, I’m excited. I’m tired. All in one. But the baby is a boy. Its beautiful. It was a little inappropriate at first, but God is good. This is unreal. …I’m in shock right now. This is crazy”.
CNN Travel has been unable to reach the mother for comment.
Other special deliveries
Although relatively uncommon, there are other cases of people giving birth mid-flight.
In the spring of 2021, a woman gave birth on a flight to Hawaii from Salt Lake City, Utah. To make the story even more remarkable, she said she didn’t even know she was 29 weeks pregnant. Fortunately, there was one medical person and three neonatal intensive care nurses on board the flight.
And in the summer of 2021, a baby girl was born on a US military evacuation flight from Afghanistan en route to Ramstein Air Base in Germany. It was named Reach after the aircraft’s call sign.
In 2016, two babies were reported to have been born on flights. A girl born on a flight operated by the Philippine airline Cebu Pacific Air received 1 million airline miles points. About a month later, a boy was born on a flight between Tripoli, Libya, and Niamey, Niger. and was given free flights for life.
CNN’s Amanda Jackson contributed to this report.
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