A Canadian doctor helped a woman deliver her baby in the most unlikely of places: aboard a Qatar Airways flight 35,000 feet above ground. Dr. Anita Khatib explained that she was on a work assignment in Entebbe, Uganda when a woman became pregnant mid-flight. She was then summoned to action.
“I look down and I see this woman lying on the seat with her head towards the aisle and her feet towards the window, and this baby’s coming out,”Khatib shared Inside Edition Digital. “It was not what I was expecting at all.”
Khatib, who specializes in travel medicine, had been on the overnight flight last month when, about an hour after take-off, she heard a message over the intercom system that explained there was a medical emergency and asked if there was a doctor onboard.
At first, believing that a passenger might have had a heart attack she brought herself to the attention of flight attendants. She was then quickly put into action.
“I didn’t know anything about the woman. I didn’t know anything about the history. I didn’t know how we got to this point,”She recalled. “So I pretty much jumped right in.”
Two other passengers, a pediatric and an oncology nurse were next to her.
“I’m thinking, ‘We need clamps. We need scissors. If we don’t have clamps, I need shoelaces.’ I’m thinking, ‘I need hot water.’ I’m thinking, ‘Wait, no, I don’t need hot water,’ but they always ask for it in the movies,”Khatib laughed. “All these things are kind of going through my head like, ‘What do I need to make sure we can deliver this baby safely?’”
She explained that there are many possible outcomes in these situations, but the baby was delivered healthy and Khatib notified her that she was also in good health.
The baby’s mom, a migrant worker from Uganda, had not received any prenatal healthcare and had no idea the baby would be coming so soon, Khatib explained. At first, she believed she was sick. However, a flight attendant informed her…