While flights are always a joyous occasion, they normally aren't the types of places where you'd expect to have that kind of joy. But that's what happened recently, when a mother went into labor and gave birth on a Delta flight.
As reported by the AP, the plane was about half an hour away from Portland International in Oregon on Friday, April 24. But then, Ashley Blair from Tennessee suddenly went into labor. Not ideal for her, as she was traveling to Oregon to be with her mom for the birth.
Either way, they couldn't just let her sit there. But luckily, there were two paramedics who had just been vacationing in the Dominican Republic, Tina Fritz and Kaarin Powell. They had just helped out another passenger when a flight attendant told them about Blair.
So, what did they do? They got right to work, of course! The moment they were told they didn't have any of the right tools for delivery, they thought on their feet. They borrowed blankets from passengers on the flight and took several shoelaces in order to both tie off the umbilical cord and get a tourniquet ready for a possible IV.
The mother then shouted, "OK, it's time! I gotta push!"
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But then, the flight attendants gave some pretty bad news. Just as Blair was going to give birth, they explained that the plane was going to touch down. So they had to act fast. How fast? Three pushes worth of fast. Or, as Fritz explained it, "three super, really good pushes", meaning "the baby came out really quickly." And the baby came out good, too. Fritz explained that "the baby pinked up right away, she was gorgeous." And that "Mom was a rock star."
Delta extended their thanks to the paramedics for assistance with the birth and well-wishes to the family. They said, "We extend our sincere thanks to the crew and medical volunteers on board who stepped in to provide care to a customer onboard prior to landing in Portland. The health and safety of our customers is always our top priority, and we wish the new family all the best."
What a heartwarming story!
