A Nigerian
banker, Toyin Ogundipe, 41, has been delivered of a baby boy mid-air about
35,000 feet above sea level aboard an Air France flight.
Toyin, a
banker based in the UK, was delivered of the baby four hours away from her
destination Paris-to-New York.
A passenger,
Sij Hemal, 27 year old, a second-year urology resident at Cleveland Clinic’s
Glickman Urological and Kidney Institute, helped Ogundipe deliver her baby on
December, 17, 2017, according to clevelandclinic.org.
The mother
of two who lives in the UK had gone into labour a week earlier than her
delivery date, and was in childbirth pains and having contractions about 10
minutes apart.
“I was
pretty tired from jet lag,” recalls Mr. Hemal, who a day earlier had attended
his best friend’s wedding. “I thought I’d just have a drink and fall asleep. As
it turned out, I’m glad I didn’t drink anything.”
“Her
contractions were about 10 minutes apart, so the pediatrician (Dr. Susan
Shepherd, of Senlis, France) and I began to monitor her vital signs and keep
her comfortable,” explains Hemal.
They also
suggested Toyin be moved to the roomier first-class section, which had very few
passengers. “My ticket to first class!” he adds, with a laugh.
While the
flight’s air hostesses tended to Toyin’s traveling companion, her 4-year-old
daughter, Amy, the doctors used instruments and supplies in the flight’s scanty
medical kit to routinely check her vital signs, including blood pressure,
oxygen rate and pulse. Very soon, however, their activities heightened.
Within the
course of an hour, Toyin’s contractions accelerated; they occurred seven, then
five and finally two minutes apart. “That’s when we knew we were going to
deliver on the plane,” Hemal recounts.
Although his
practice area is urology, Hemal delivered seven babies during medical school,
never on the floor of a jetliner.
“We are
trained to stay calm and think clearly in emergency situations,” he adds.
“I just
tried to think ahead to what might go wrong, and come up with a creative
solution.”
Toyin
recalls being rather composed throughout the delivery, thanks to the calm
manner of the two doctors and the professional treatment they provided: “I was
relaxed because I knew I was in safe hands.
“They did
everything a doctor or midwife would have done if I was in the labor room in
the hospital. Even better, if you ask me.”
After about
30 minutes of pushing, Toyin gave birth to a boy, whom she named Jake.
Hemal safely
removed the placenta, used a surgical clamp (and a shoestring) to tie off the
umbilical cord, and then cut it off with a pair of scissors.
Mr. Shepherd
assessed Jake’s health, which appeared to be normal; soon, he began nursing on
his mother.
Upon arrival
at JFK, Toyin, Jake and Amy were whisked away by ambulance to Jamaica Hospital
Medical Center, just four miles from the airport.
Toyin was
released later that day, and is recovering with her children at the home of
friends in New Jersey. (NAN)
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