Toronto/IBNS: A baby was delivered on a recent Air Canada flight bound for Toronto.
The airline confirmed Monday that the flight took off from St. Lucia on March 6 when a passenger began “experiencing a medical issue.”
Air Canada stated that flight attendants on board rushed to support the mother-to-be, who they said was prematurely in labour.
After the crew asked if there were any doctors on the plane, two answered the call and assisted.
The flight was diverted to Bermuda to accommodate the delivery, however, the baby was born before the plane touched the tarmac.
The passenger cabin of an Air India flight to Toronto turned into a delivery room on the weekend when a baby was born at 11,000 metres.
Dr. Balvinder Singh Ahuja from Brampton, was on the same Delhi to Toronto flight as Kuljeet Kaur, her husband Ranjodh Singh Gill and their seven-year-old daughter.
Before moving to Canada, the doctor was a pediatrician in India and was returning home after a visit to India when he heard a call on the plane’s loudspeaker if there was any doctor or nurse on board
When the doctor went back, he saw this lady laying on the floor and in labor
Although he had reportedly attended hundreds of births, his real expertise was with children after they’ve been born.
Being unsure in this case how much time he had before the baby would arrive, he gathered together what he thought he would need and used scotch to sterilize the scissors.
“I needed something to clamp the cord at the maternal site. So for that, one of the air hostesses said she’s got a sewing kit. So we took threads from those needles and used those threads to tie the knot,” he said.
“The microwave in the kitchen was used to warm a blanket for the baby.”
After about 45 minutes of labour “the baby came out and thank God she cried very well,” the doctor said.
The baby girl weighed seven pounds and was named Aakash Leen Kaur. Aakash means ‘sky’ in Hindi.
After arriving in Bermuda, medics transferred the mother and the baby to a local hospital in healthy condition.
“We thank the doctors who assisted and we are proud of the professionalism of our crew,” Air Canada said in a statement.
Pregnant customers can travel on an Air Canada flight up to 36 weeks with a normal pregnancy, the airline said.
After the birth of the Akash, her mother and little Aakash were given an upgrade to first class.
When the plane landed in Toronto about nine hours later, mother and daughter were rushed to hospital where they are reported to be doing fine.
The doctor who delivered the baby is not a licensed pediatrician in Canada.
Like most foreign-trained doctors he needs to be recertified before being allowed to practice in Ontario.
The baby’s parents being Indian, she being born in the skies over Kazakhstan and the plane was heading to Canada, the mystery about her nationality remains to be resolved.
(Reporting by Asha Bajaj)
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