Five medical professionals help deliver premature baby aboard flight to Vietnam

A premature baby weighing 1.3 kilograms was delivered safely aboard a flight from Copenhagen to Ho Chi Minh City after five medical professionals who happened to be passengers responded to a call for help.

The Vietnamese mother, about 30 weeks pregnant, went into labor at around 1 a.m. on September 6, while the aircraft was still more than two hours from its destination. None of the volunteers was an obstetrician, but the doctors and nurse quickly divided responsibilities and worked with the cabin crew in the roomier business-class section.

Once they confirmed that the mother’s waters had broken and the baby’s head was visible, the team acted immediately. The mother remained calm, followed instructions and helped communication by speaking multiple languages. The baby was born within six to seven minutes, then cried and breathed well.

With no delivery room or neonatal equipment, the group adapted materials on board. They placed the baby skin to skin on the mother’s chest for warmth and used the strap from a mask still inside sterile packaging to tie the umbilical cord. A nurse gave the mother intravenous fluids.

Because the newborn needed prompt hospital care, the flight diverted to Yangon, about 20 minutes away. Mother and baby were taken to a hospital, and an airline representative later reported that both were safe and well.