I've always been in awe of stories about women who give birth in completely unexpected places after pushing only a couple of times. From those amazing women who give birth in cars on their way to the hospital to those whose babies arrive on the elevator in the hospital, the truth is that they're amazing stories. But none of them are more incredible than 17-year-old Fatoumatta Kaba, who was forced to give birth this past Saturday morning aboard a trans-Atlantic flight when she was traveling at 38,000 feet!
Kaba was flying from South Africa to New York City when she realized that her baby was on the way! You will never believe what happened next!
Fortunately for her, there were TWO doctors on board and they helped her give birth–although, incredibly, Kaba only had to push twice and her baby boy was born.
According to pediatric anesthesiologist Julie Williamson, who was coming back home on the flight after a medical congress in South Africa, Kaba kept calm the entire time during her ordeal–but it was the other passengers on board the plane that became hysterical! Everything went so well for this brave teen in delivering at 38,000 feet that the pilot didn't even have to diverge the plane, since both Kaba and her newborn were well enough to withstand the 10 hours still remaining to reach N.Y.C. Wow!
Read more ¿Qué más?: Super mom gives birth on train & then just walks off with attached umbilical cord!
There's no doubt this story is amazing, but I can't help but ask myself how in the world the airline staff allowed Kaba to go on such a long flight if she was so close to giving birth?! Many people have commented that she was probably on the way to the U.S. to give birth here so her son would be an American citizen, but Kaba explained that she was visiting her family and that she's flying back to her native Angola, where her husband is a diplomat, as soon as possible.
Whatever the reason is, what Kaba did is a tremendous feat for any mamá. And what really matters is that now she'll have an amazing story to tell her son about the day he was born.
Image via Thinkstock
