Thai woman went into labour on plane
Images adapted from: Alena Fedchenko
As an aeroplane is at altitudes of 35,000 feet, it’s safe to say that the last thing every passenger wants is any sort of emergency.
But such a scenario was inevitable when a 23-year-old Thai woman went into labour on Qatar Airways flight QR 830 from Doha to Bangkok early this month.
Doctor on board to the rescue
It was the mother’s lucky day because there was a doctor on board- Dr. Alena Fedchenko, an ENT specialist from Ukraine.
The doctor, with the assistance of 5 crew members, successfully delivered a baby boy mid-air. Needless to say, fellow cabin crew and passengers applauded the team for handling the situation so well.
Image credit: Alena Fedchenko
Although Dr. Fedchenko is not an obstetrician, she’d undergone the basics of obstetrics and gynaecology as it’s mandatory for physician students in Kyiv’s medical university.
In one part of her status, Dr. Fedchenko said, “I remembered everything I had once learned.”
Image credit: Alena Fedchenko
The flight had to make an emergency landing in Kolkata, India where the mother and baby were sent to a local hospital. The aircraft then resumed its flight to Bangkok. The best part is Qatar had upgraded Dr. Fedchenko to Business Class – she totally deserved it!
Take note of pregnancy policies before flying
Image credit: Smartparenting
To avoid an incident like this, everybody should thoroughly read through their airline’s policies regarding pregnancies for the mother and child’s well being.
According to Qatar Airways, women in their 33rd -35th week of pregnancy (without complications) would need a doctor’s permission to board the plane to ensure that the mother is in good health and is fit to travel. However, the Thai woman failed to notify the airline about her pregnancy.
Extra the credit goes to skilled cabin crew, who have trained real hard for situations like this, and especially Dr. Fedchenko for doing what you do best, saving lives.
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