Doctors recount tense moment they delivered baby on plane diverted to Myanmar

A baby weighing about 1.3 kilograms was born on a flight from Denmark to Vietnam after the aircraft crew called for medical help when the passenger went into premature labor.

The woman, a Vietnamese first-time mother aged about 24 or 25, had roughly three hours remaining before the flight was due to land. Dr. Ho Khanh Thanh of Cho Ray Hospital said the alert came at about 1 a.m. The woman appeared to be in labor, and medical workers found that her waters had broken and the baby’s head could be felt.

Five medical workers came together to help: Dr. Thanh, a foreign doctor and nurse, and Vietnamese doctors specializing in cardiology and pediatrics. None was an obstetrician, but each worked within their area of expertise. The passenger, who spoke several languages, helped translate and remained calm while the crew supported the response.

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Because the baby was premature, I thought the most important thing at that moment was to deliver the baby quickly, because delaying could increase the risk of respiratory problems.

The baby was delivered in about six or seven minutes in the business-class cabin, where there was enough space to lay the mother down. The team then focused on keeping the premature baby warm and monitoring breathing. Without the equipment available in a hospital, they placed the baby skin-to-skin on the mother’s chest by cutting open her shirt. They also used the strap from a sterile mask package to tie the umbilical cord because no specialized cord was available.

“Because the baby was premature, I thought the most important thing at that moment was to deliver the baby quickly, because delaying could increase the risk of respiratory problems,” Dr. Thanh said. He added that the mother followed instructions to hold her breath and push with the contractions, which helped the delivery proceed quickly.

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In those conditions, we did not have all the equipment available in a hospital, so everyone had to make use of what was available.