A baby was born on a plane over the weekend. A 17-year-old girl gave birth on board a 16-hour flight from South Africa to New York.
The young mother, Fatoumatta Kaba claims she wasn't nervous as she gave birth at 38,000 feet.
"I wasn't scared to have the baby, I was very happy," Kaba, 17, told the New York Daily News. She is recovering at Jamaica Hospital after giving birth to her child, Mamel Joella on a nonstop South African Airways flight
"I feel better now after delivering the baby. Everything's okay," she added, speaking in the West African language Soninke.
The successful birth was made possible by two doctors who happened to be on board the long flight from Johannesburg.
Doctors Julie Williamson and Steve Paridon helped perform a sift delivery on board as the pilot was trying to decide if he should make an emergency landing.
"(Kaba) made the decision for us!" Williamson, a pediatric anesthesiologist, told the News. "She delivered him in two pushes."
Kaba was on the flight from Johannesburg after she connected from a flight from her hometown of Angola. Kaba and her baby landed safely on Saturday morning after the long journey.
It was the first time Kaba left her country. She was traveling to the U.S. to visit in-laws.
"I just expected to come here and be happy and visit my family and then go back to my husband," Kaba told the News.
Kaba's husband, Abubakary Jawara, a 38-year-old Gambian diplomat, was very happy to learn of the birth of their son. While she wants to see her husband, she might stay in the Bronx for up to three months before flying home, but she says she'll go wherever her husband will go.
"Wherever my husband goes, I'll go stay with my husband," Kaba said. "It could be China, Angola, or the United States."
Rules about pregnant passengers vary among airlines, but some airlines require medical clearance from doctors before a pregnant woman is allowed to fly, especially if it is close to the due date.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
