Birth 'Was Uneventful Other Than Being at 30,000 Feet'

Baby born over the Atlantic on flight from Ghana to US
By Jenn Gidman,  Newser Staff
Posted Feb 1, 2022 7:25 AM CST
Birth 'Was Uneventful Other Than Being at 30,000 Feet'
Stock photo.   (Getty Images/Diy13)

No one wants to hear "Is there a doctor on board?" while they're halfway through an 11-hour journey over the Atlantic. Luckily for one mom-to-be, there was not only a doctor, but also a nurse and a former nurse on United Airlines Flight 997, and they all helped bring her baby into the world before the plane landed. CNN reports that the woman started having labor contractions about six hours into the flight from Accra, Ghana, to the United States, even though the baby's due date wasn't until late February.

That's when University of Michigan dermatology resident Dr. Stephen Ansah-Addo, a nurse, and a flight attendant who used to be a nurse jumped into action, per ABC News. "I couldn't believe it was happening, but I was trying to stay calm," Ansah-Addo says. Passenger Tiani Warren tells CNN the birth took place on the floor in front of the emergency exits, and that from start to finish it took about two and a half hours. Per NBC News, a journalist on board shared video on Facebook of the new mom and her "lovely baby boy," who by that time had been cleaned up and were sitting calmly in their seat, waiting to land.

The plane landed just before 6am Sunday at Washington Dulles International Airport, where paramedics were waiting to assist the new mom and her infant. "The delivery was uneventful other than being at 30,000 feet," the airline said in a statement, per ABC News. It adds its crew was "amazing" and that "we were especially thrilled to see the plane land with one extra, especially beautiful customer on board," per CNN. (More uplifting news stories.)

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