China: Woman gives birth on airplane at 25 weeks, nurse saves baby's life

A woman gave birth to a premature baby on an airplane in China recently and it survived, thanks to a nurse who acted quickly. State broadcaster CCTV reported that the incident took place on a Southern Airlines plane flying from Haikou in the south to Beijing on August 3.

The woman went into premature labour on the flight and gave birth to the baby in the toilet. Born at just 25 weeks, the infant was extremely tiny and needed emergency medical care. Flight attendants asked the passengers if someone could help the baby.

Chen Shanshan, a nurse who works in the neonatal department at Hainan Provincial People’s Hospital, was also present on the flight. She quickly stepped up and delivered medical aid to the newborn.

Chen told the broadcaster that the baby was the size of a human palm and wrapper in the fetal membrane. Two other doctors also started helping Chen who put on gloves and tore off the membrane to let the baby breathe.

After removing the membrane, Chen and the doctors noticed that the baby wasn't breathing and looked extremely pale. It did not cry and they also couldn't find a pulse. They tried to stimulate the baby but it did not respond. Chen then performed emergency CPR on the baby girl who she said was "in critical danger".

Also Read:Seven Suns spotted over China sky. Optical illusion or natural occurrence?

Premature babies are at risk of hematosepsis and even death if not kept warm. So she asked the crew to give her a warm water bag to help stabilise the baby's body temperature.

Flight makes emergency landing

Everyone felt relieved as soon as the baby's breath and heartbeat stabilised. The airplane made an emergency landing in Changsha and Chen gave the baby chest compressions for 90 minutes till they reached the hospital.

“It was only as I saw the baby taken into the rescue room that I realised my arms were numb,” she said.

Chen said the flight crew and the two doctors helped her throughout the time she was focused on saving the baby.

The baby's father reached the hospital and said the baby weighed just 820 grams. He sent a video clip to the nurse, saying, “Thank you for being there at the critical moment. We will tell our kid and she will remember you forever." He also plans to meet her in person.