Nigerian woman gives birth aboard Qatar Airways flight to Brazil

Published: 23 August 2024

NT Bureau
Doha

A Nigerian woman made headlines after giving birth to a baby girl aboard a Qatar Airways flight from Lagos to Brazil on Saturday, the Nigerian media reported.

Oyindamola Akinyera, shared her extraordinary experience on Instagram, detailing the remarkable events that un-folded during the flight.

In her post, Akinyera explained that she and her husband, David, were en route to their “honeymoon and baby-moon” destination, Nigerian Tribune said.

She had been cleared for air travel by her doctor. However, shortly after their connecting flight from Doha to Brazil took off, Akinyera began experiencing what she initially thought were routine pregnancy backaches.

“I thought it was something sleep could fix since we had hours till landing. The air hostesses gave me the princess treatment, laid my bed, and I was ready to finally snooze.”

As the flight progressed over the Atlantic, Akinyera experienced severe discomfort and asked her husband to accom-pany her to the restroom, thinking she needed to relieve herself. To her surprise, she realised she was in labour.

Her Instagram post continued, “The pains kept waking me up, and the Qatar Airways air hostesses (my personal mid-wives) sprung into action.

“They set up a whole birthing station for me at the entrance of the plane. Everything was happening so fast, and all I was thinking is that I have to hold on till we land to have this baby!”

Fortunately, a fellow passenger, Dr Carolina, who was a medical professional, offered her assistance. “Dr Carolina checks me, tells me I’m fully dilated, and the baby is ready to come. At this point, we’re in the Brazilian airspace and about 40 minutes from landing,” Akinyera recounted.

With her husband praying and supporting her, and the Qatar Airways crew acting as midwives, Akinyera managed to deliver her baby just 20 minutes before landing. “God blessed us with the most precious baby girl,” she said.

Upon landing in Brazil, Akinyera and her newborn were taken to a hospital, where both mother and baby are reported to be doing well.