Filipino woman gives birth on international flight
September 21, 2011
After her doctor gave her permission to board a plane from Manila to the U.S., Aida Alamillo thought she would still be pregnant when she landed. However, once in the air, the expectant mother went into labor, little more than a week before her September 28 due date.
"I didn't expect I would have a baby there," the new mother told reporters, according to Fox News. "It just happened."
MSNBC reports that Alamillo was assisted by three nurses who happened to be on board, as well as the flight's crew members. Her baby boy was born around 3:30 in the morning to applause from the other passengers. News sources report that he appeared healthy and cried right away. When the flight landed four hours later Alamillo and her newborn son were met by paramedics and an ambulance and whisked off to a nearby hospital.
Since Alamillo was immigrating to the U.S. with her three other children, questions are being raised concerning the nationality of the newborn. Fox News states that she was hoping to give birth to her fourth child in America so he would be born a U.S. citizen, but he may still be Filipino due to the nature of his birth.
People can use phone cards to make cheap international calls to the Philippines to talk to their friends about this rare event.