A Canadian doctor helped a woman deliver a baby during an overnight flight to Uganda. The mother, a migrant worker who was on her way home was about to deliver her first child on the plane to Uganda from Saudi Arabia , when the Qatar Airways staff asked if there was a doctor on board.
Dr. Ayesha Khatib, a professor at the University of Toronto, sprang into action when she answered an urgent appeal on Qatar Airways’ intercom for a medical professional.
The baby, named ‘Miracle Ayesha’ after Dr Khatib, was born healthy, despite being early at 35 weeks.
“I see a crowd of people gathered around the patient,” Dr Khatib told BBC. At this point, she was wondering if someone was having a heart attack.
“As I got closer, I see this woman lying on the seat with her head toward the aisle and feet towards the window. And the baby was coming out!”
Dr Khatib was helped by two other passengers, an oncology nurse and a pediatrician. She said that the baby was crying “robustly”. After she quickly checked the baby, she passed her on to the pediatrician for further checks.
“I looked at the baby, and she was stable, and I looked at the mom and she was OK,” said Dr Khatib.
“So I was like, ‘Congratulations it’s a girl.’ Then the entire plane started clapping and cheering and was like ‘Oh right, I’m on a plane and everybody is watching this.'”
“The best part of the story is that she decided to name the baby after me,” says Dr Khatib.
