Passengers of United Airlines Flight 997 witnessed a miracle up above the clouds as a woman delivered a healthy baby boy amid an 11-hour flight from Africa to the United States.
The mother began experiencing contractions while traveling from Accra, Ghana, to Washington, D.C. She wasn't expected to give birth until late February, but she went into labor halfway over the Atlantic.
Coincidentally a physician was among the passengers of the flight. Dr. Stephen Ansah-Addo, a dermatology resident at the University of Michigan.
Dr. Ansah-Addo heard the call for a medical professional, and he adhered right away. Then he was joined by two professional nurses: a passenger from Dayton, Ohio, and a United flight attendant.
They made a makeshift emergency room behind the business class area using blankets and towels as the mother's contractions got stronger and more frequent.
After an hour, Dr. Ahsah-Addo felt the baby's head, but he was "trying to stay calm."
"I couldn't believe it was happening," he told ABC News.
A few pushes later, a healthy baby boy was heard crying onboard. But then they faced another challenge-- they could not find a clamp to cut the umbilical cord, which was solved as the team resorted to using a string.
The baby was born on a Boeing 787 Dreamliner, cruising at an altitude of around 30,000 feet. Per Newsweek, the plane took off at 11:45 p.m. on Saturday local time and landed at around 5:30 a.m. the next day.
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A Rewarding Experience
Dr. Ansah-Addo said such a situation made him realize the significance of his profession.
"This is someone that really needed help, because there was nobody else there. This is the kind of medicine where you can make a difference in people's lives," he said.
"The delivery was uneventful other than being at 30,000 feet," United Airlines said in a statement.
According to a United representative, the mother and her new baby were transported to a local hospital after disembarking.
From a Fellow Passenger's Point of View
Tiani Warren was among the passengers of United Flight 997. She was returning to Los Angeles after a three-week trip to Ghana. She witnessed the intense medical drama during the flight that brought her mixed emotion.
Warren shared she was asleep when she heard a moaning that got her out of her seat. Then she saw the woman on the floor being attended by a nurse. It took her around a minute before realizing the emergency, per CNN.
"I was literally counting her contractions -- seven to 10 minutes apart. I was, like, freaking out. Oh, my God," she said.
Warren noted that half of the passengers did not know the situation. Plus, the plane experienced turbulence during the flight that increased the tension, prompting her to pray over the woman crying in pain. Moments later, the baby came out.
"It's beautiful. It was a little sketchy at first, but God is good. This is unreal. ... I'm in shock right now. This is crazy," she posted on Instagram.
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