Even at the best of times,
flying can be a stressful and annoying thing to endure. There are a number of different things that can contribute to a poor flying experience: delays, no leg room and your bag having to be put in the hold are all regular annoyances that we have to battle through when flying. However, while these obstacles are simply small things that come with regular flying, some
passengers, like these lot, have to deal with a hell of a lot more.
Dr. Sij Hemal was on a long-haul flight when a woman went into labour on the plane. The 27-year-old urology resident jumped into action and managed to successfully deliver little baby Jake on the plane a week earlier than planned.
Hemal, who works at the Cleveland Clinic's Urological and Kidney Institute, was on the eight-hour flight from Paris to New York as part of his journey home from visiting India. It was pure coincidence that he happened to be also sitting next to French paediatrician, Dr. Susan Shepherd, on the flight.
The urologist was enjoying a film and waiting on a glass of champagne when a fellow passenger, Tosin Ogundipe, went into an early labour.
“I was pretty tired from jet lag,” said Dr Hemal, who’d been celebrating at his best friend’s wedding the day before. “I thought I’d just have a drink and fall asleep. As it turned out, I’m glad I didn’t drink anything.”
41-year-old Ogundipe, a banker who lives in between the US and Nigeria, went into labour while she was travelling with her four-year-old daughter, Amy.
The cabin crew couldn't perform an emergency landing due to the fact that the plane was flying over the coast of Greenland, meaning that a diversion would've taken two hours. But luckily for Ogundipe, Dr Hemal and Dr Shepherd were on hand to help out.
The mother-to-be was moved into first class (lucky thing!), and the doctors both went with her.
“Her contractions were about 10 minutes apart, so the paediatrician and I began to monitor her vital signs and keep her comfortable,” explains Dr Hemal.
In terms of equipment, all the doctors had by the way of tools, was the plane's medical kit. But despite the desired equipment and surroundings, Ogundipe's contractions increased to just two minutes apart and it became clear that she was going to have the baby while on board the plane.
Luckily for the mother, despite being a urologist, Dr Hemal has delivered seven babies as part of his training.
“We’re trained to stay calm and think clearly in emergency situations,” he said. “I just tried to think ahead to what might go wrong, and come up with a creative solution.”
Ogundipe says that the calm manner of the doctors helped her remain relaxed throughout the whole ordeal: “I was relaxed because I knew I was in safe hands,” she said. “They did everything a doctor or midwife would have done if I was in the labour room in the hospital. Even better, if you ask me.”
30 minutes later, baby Jake was born. Dr Hemal removed the placenta and tied off the umbilical cord with a surgical clamp and a shoestring before he cut it off with scissors. After a quick check of Jake's health, he soon began nursing on his mother.
Once they heard about the incident, Dr Hemal says that Air France sent him a travel voucher as well as a bottle of champagne to make up for the glass that he never got to drink while on board. He, Dr Shepher and Ogundipe have all stayed in touch as well.
“So much could have gone wrong, but it didn’t. Being on that particular flight, sitting next to a paediatrician… it’s like it was destiny,” says Dr Hemal. “Thanks to God, everything worked out.”
It's an unbelievable coincidence that there were two doctors on the plane to help Ogundipe through her labour. I wonder what nationality the child will be listed as, seeing as he was born in the air.
