Mid-air drama woman gives birth on packed passenger plane to Bangkok

By Katherine Davison

 

Mid-air drama as woman gives birth on packed passenger plane to Bangkok. Credit: CEN/Australscope

 

An ear, nose and throat doctor has successfully delivered a baby in mid-flight after a woman went into labour on board a packed passenger plane.

 

Alena Fedchenko was flying from Doha to Bangkok, en route to her final holiday destination Vietnam when flight staff made an announcement at around 3am asking if there was a doctor on board.

 

Fedchenko, who has 27 years of experience, was the only doctor on the flight and she said: “I thought that someone got high blood pressure and I went there. They asked me if I had a medical licence. Unfortunately, I didn’t remember mine by heart.”

 

However, she then realised that an unnamed pregnant woman had gone into labour and she was given permission to call her son who provided her and the entire Qatar Airways team with the requested documents.

 

Full Story: https://7news.com.au/lifestyle/health-wellbeing/mid-air-drama-woman-gives-birth-on-packed-passenger-plane-to-bangkok-c-690476

Well done Elena! 

Some good news in TV for a change...

Successful delivery on board then they stopped in Calcutta to send mum and son to a hospital there. Mad.  

52 minutes ago, nauseus said:

Successful delivery on board then they stopped in Calcutta to send mum and son to a hospital there. Mad.  

Do you think they want responsibility longer than absolutely necessary? However, this should have been taken care of before taking off. She should never have been on the flight. They have regulations for this kind of things.

Pretty sure you aren't meant to fly once 7 months pregnant, so this was either a very premature birth, or the woman deliberately decided to risk it. 

18 minutes ago, Matzzon said:

Do you think they want responsibility longer than absolutely necessary? However, this should have been taken care of before taking off. She should never have been on the flight. They have regulations for this kind of things.

I'm sure they don't want any responsibility but if the boy was OK, as they say, then for the sake of another 90 minutes they could have continued to Bangkok where the facilities are mainly better. Yes, it is probably company policy as you say. Agree that the woman should not have been flying but I don't know if the birth was premature? But the mother is Thai. Looks like this actually happened on 3rd/4th Feb. Nice story but poor news journalism.

 

https://www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-and-advice/baby-birth-plane-onboard-qatar-airways-kolkata-a9316226.html

Edited February 10, 20206 yr by nauseus

I wonder why the mother would not let her photo be taken ... But that aside ... Great story

2 hours ago, nauseus said:

Successful delivery on board then they stopped in Calcutta to send mum and son to a hospital there. Mad.  

There are some quite good hospitals.

 

   https://www.justdial.com/Kolkata/Private-Hospitals/nct-10390288?utm_source=adwords&utm_medium=codered&gclid=Cj0KCQiAm4TyBRDgARIsAOU75soq-QO-UoCfKX4qBG7jdG49uTG7UrfLE2aGSakm3aIiSIz-fukSUK4aAkBrEALw_wcB

3 hours ago, Isaanbiker said:

There are some quite good hospitals.

 

   https://www.justdial.com/Kolkata/Private-Hospitals/nct-10390288?utm_source=adwords&utm_medium=codered&gclid=Cj0KCQiAm4TyBRDgARIsAOU75soq-QO-UoCfKX4qBG7jdG49uTG7UrfLE2aGSakm3aIiSIz-fukSUK4aAkBrEALw_wcB

There are a few but were they lucky?

Interested in the medical licence part of this story. If the ENT doctor could not have produced her licence, what were the staff going to do? I presume she was going to give birth anyway so the doctor could have been of assistance even if not recognised. Probably more assistance than the flight crew anyway.

 

12 hours ago, BobbyL said:

Pretty sure you aren't meant to fly once 7 months pregnant, so this was either a very premature birth, or the woman deliberately decided to risk it. 

Which raises the question, who's gonna pay the bill for the Calcutta stopover? If she has an insurance, will it cover events like this?

38 minutes ago, DoctorG said:

Interested in the medical licence part of this story. If the ENT doctor could not have produced her licence, what were the staff going to do? I presume she was going to give birth anyway so the doctor could have been of assistance even if not recognised. Probably more assistance than the flight crew anyway.

 

Any old fool could step up and claim to be a doctor, they have to consider the safety

of the passenger, and safeguard themselves from possible litigation.

 

Also It is not unheard of that a woman doesn't realise that she is pregnant, sometimes

right up to and during labour, incredible as it seems.

I thought it was forbidden to fly in the last month of pregnancy for situations like this

On her way to Vietnam for a holiday. She wanted the child to be born in Vietnam? Something is missing from this feelgood story.

 

14 hours ago, BobbyL said:

Pretty sure you aren't meant to fly once 7 months pregnant, so this was either a very premature birth, or the woman deliberately decided to risk it. 

The kid will get free flights for life

Oh Horray! an irresponsible mother flies when baby is due?  going on holiday?  Jeeze

Where's the kids TM30?

 

Clearly, he traveled from inside the mother to the outside in a plane over Thai air space. Also, where is his face mask?

 

Damn foreigner!

 

Other than that , well done mum and baby. ????

She didn't want her picture taken to save face. <deleted>?

1 minute ago, nervona81732 said:

She didn't want her picture taken to save face. <deleted>?

groan

14 hours ago, nauseus said:

But the mother is Thai.

So isn't it interesting that she was due to transit in Bangkok on her way to holiday in Vietnam. Like so many others. For a couple of years now I've been on planes from Europe or Dubai which have been quite full, but there have been few collecting bags off the flight. Most were in transit to somewhere else.

 

But where you read that the mother is Thai? It isn't in the original article.

Edited February 11, 20206 yr by Bangkok Barry

On her way to Vietnam via Bangkok - of course TAT would have counted her as a tourist visiting Thailand despite being in transit!

Edited February 11, 20206 yr by Burma Bill
additional information

42 minutes ago, Bangkok Barry said:

So isn't it interesting that she was due to transit in Bangkok on her way to holiday in Vietnam. Like so many others. For a couple of years now I've been on planes from Europe or Dubai which have been quite full, but there have been few collecting bags off the flight. Most were in transit to somewhere else.

 

But where you read that the mother is Thai? It isn't in the original article.

https://www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-and-advice/baby-birth-plane-onboard-qatar-airways-kolkata-a9316226.html

 

The flight terminates at BKK. If she was going to Vietnam she'd have to get off there anyway.

Edited February 11, 20206 yr by nauseus

3 hours ago, shy coconut said:

Any old fool could step up and claim to be a doctor, they have to consider the safety

of the passenger, and safeguard themselves from possible litigation.

 

Also It is not unheard of that a woman doesn't realise that she is pregnant, sometimes

right up to and during labour, incredible as it seems.

Not knowing that one is pregnant seems a bit daft. So to say that they not think that if one has sex that one doesn't get pregnant . Something isn't right  here . Time will tell if someone find out.

3 hours ago, IAMHERE said:

On her way to Vietnam for a holiday. She wanted the child to be born in Vietnam? Something is missing from this feelgood story.

 

What's missing is your attention to detail. It was the doctor who was on her way to Vietnam.

 

'Alena Fedchenko was flying from Doha to Bangkok, en route to her final holiday destination Vietnam when flight staff made an announcement at around 3am asking if there was a doctor on board'.

 

 

Edited February 11, 20206 yr by Moonlover

The general rule amongst airlines is that a pregnant woman cannot fly after 37 weeks.

 

I doubt if this lady would have passed scrutiny at check in if she had turned up with a 'full term lump'. She would have been asked for a doctors certificate. (she may well have been asked anyway)

 

So it's my guess that she was coming to Thailand to give birth at home and that the birth was a premature one.

 

The diversion into Kolkata would be entirely within the airlines protocol for such a situation. A prematurely child would need urgent medical attention to ensure its survival.

2 hours ago, Moonlover said:

5 hours ago, IAMHERE said:

On her way to Vietnam for a holiday. She wanted the child to be born in Vietnam? Something is missing from this feelgood story.

 

What's missing is your attention to detail. It was the doctor who was on her way to Vietnam.

 

'Alena Fedchenko was flying from Doha to Bangkok, en route to her final holiday destination Vietnam when flight staff made an announcement at around 3am asking if there was a doctor on board'.

 

 

 

hehe reminds me of high school reading comprehension contest

2 hours ago, Moonlover said:

What's missing is your attention to detail. It was the doctor who was on her way to Vietnam.

 

'Alena Fedchenko was flying from Doha to Bangkok, en route to her final holiday destination Vietnam when flight staff made an announcement at around 3am asking if there was a doctor on board'.

 

 

 

12 minutes ago, atyclb said:

 

 

hehe reminds me of high school reading comprehension contest

Reminds me of my lack of 'attention to detail' during religious education lessons. I once misspelled bullocks, to the hilarity of my class mates.

The 'Mile high club's members start it, somebody has to finish it

There can be quite dire consequences for unmarried females having babies in many Middle Eastern countries. Her flight could have been a desperate attempt to avoid more serious issues had she stayed where she was.