Four other passengers helped the woman give birth mid-flight.
A woman who wasn’t aware that she was pregnant gave birth to a baby boy on board a flight to Hawaii.
Lavinia Mounga was travelling with her family from Salt Lake City to Honolulu when she began experiencing cramps.
The cramps later turned out to be contractions, and Lavinia gave birth to her son Raymond while they were 30,000 ft in the air.
She was 29 weeks pregnant.
Halfway through the flight, the pilot announced that there was a medical emergency on board. Four other passengers rushed to give Lavinia assistance.
The make-shift medical team included Dale Glenn, a physician, and three neonatal ICU nurses: Lani Bamfeld, Amanda Beeding and Mimi Ho.
The team helped Lavinia deliver baby Raymond, and monitored him after birth.
They used shoelaces to cut the umbilical cord, and monitored his heartbeat with an Apple Watch. They kept the infant warm by microwaving bottles of water, and wrapping him in plastic.
Additionally, other passengers gave the new mother their own blankets and diapers.
When the plane landed, Lavinia and Raymond were transported to a medical centre in Honolulu.
In a post on Facebook, new dad Ethan pledged to be the “best dad” to baby Raymond, and thanked his fellow passengers for assisting with the delivery.
“The fact that our son is here is a miracle and nothing short of it,” he said. “The birth came as a shock to us both as we had no idea she was pregnant.”
Lavinia’s delivery went viral on TikTok after Julia Hansen took a video of the plane during the emergency. While the video doesn’t show the birth itself, it captures audio of the pilot announcing the birth.
He later calls for a round of applause for the new mother.
The family remain in Hawaii as Raymond receives care in a neonatal ward.
A GoFundMe to raise money for Lavinia’s medical costs has been set up by her sisters.
