Author: bencassman

“Had a completely miraculous experience on Wednesday. In the middle of our flight Delta 306 from Salt Lake City to Honolulu, I was called to assist in the delivery and resuscitation of a 29 week old baby, very premature, when mom (who did not actually know she was pregnant… yes, this does happen) suddenly went into labor.

astoundingly there were not one but three NICU nurses on the plane from Kansas City who rushed to help Mom, who delivered in the airplane at 40000 feet over the Pacific. We used shoelaces, a sock (for a head warmer), plastic bags, microwaved water bottles (to raise temperature), an Apple Watch (which worked surprisingly well as a heart monitor),and an oxygen mask we made ourselves to get baby stabilized, keep him warm and help him breathe until he was safe enough to wrap him against moms chest.

We finally reached Honolulu three hours later. The pivotal moment came when after landing, we moved mom and baby into a wheelchair and he woke up and then, finally, for the first time he cried out loud. The whole plane applauded.

There have only ever been about 60 babies born on flights in recorded history. What are the odds this three pound preemie would have 3 Neonatal intensive care nurses, a physician’s assistant, and one semi-experienced doctor