[Ammi]

A baby has been born four months premature after her mother went into labour during a flight from Paris to the US.

The American Airlines flight to North Carolina was diverted to Dublin airport after Jenny Drake realised her child was on the way.

An ambulance was waiting on the runway to rush Jenny and her husband Gavin to hospital.

Zoe Drake weighed just 1lb 8oz when she was born four minutes after her mum arrived at Dublin's Rotunda maternity hospital.

Speaking for the first time, the new mother - who is from Kentucky in the US - said: "She's doing really well, she is stable now thankfully."

She has given her daughter "Ireland" as a middle name - a lasting reminder of the transatlantic drama.

The flight had only been in the air for about an hour when the contractions began.

She added: "I was terrified. My big fear was that, if she was born on the plane, she wouldn't make it because she was so young and her lungs were not properly developed.

"I was just trying to keep her in - which is easier said than done. I just kept thinking 'please let me make it to the hospital' because every minute counts without oxygen."

At first, Jenny had tried to convince herself that she wasn't in labour, even though her contractions were just three minutes apart.

She explained: "Eventually, I had to flag down a flight attendant. They asked if there were any medics on board and I think eight lights went on. There were several doctors who helped me, so I was really lucky.

"I felt for my poor husband - at one point they handed him a bag and said you may have to catch her."

Baby Zoe is expected to remain in intensive care at the Rotunda hospital for the next few months, but is said to be thriving.

"The doctors said she was big for 25 weeks, but she looks tiny to me. We are just so grateful to everyone who helped and are thankful she is doing well," Jenny added.



https://uk.news.yahoo.com/plane-dram...2.html#Wy1ak3A



..1lb 8oz wow, well done to all of the medics who helped.....

..there was a story a few weeks ago about a lady who gave birth on a Chinese airline flight and they then said that they were suing her for a detoured landing cost as she had flown so late into her pregnancy and not informed anyone of how far into it she was../I think she was 38 weeks...


..anyway, lovely and hopefully healthy 4 month premature little lady there...