A woman who didn’t know she was pregnant gave birth to a baby boy on a plane mid-way through her flight, 30,000 feet in the air.
Lavinia Mounga, from Utah, was flying to Hawaii from Utah to enjoy a family vacation when half way through the six-hour flight she started to experience severe stomach pain.
Lucky for her there were several medical professionals on the flight including three Neo-natal ICU nurses who determined she was pregnant.
The nurses along with a physician’s assistant and a family medicine doctor, all helped to deliver the baby boy in the plane bathroom.
As her baby boy was born at 26 weeks, the brave mom had to wait for the remaining three hours of the flight before an emergency medical service crew met them and they were transported to hospital.
Lani Bamfield, a nurse based out of Kansas City who helped Lavinia, shared her experience of delivering a baby at 30,000 feet on Facebook, writing “If anyone would like to know how our trip to Hawaii is going… here’s how it started… we delivered a 26-27 weeker in the airplane bathroom, in the middle of the ocean, with three NICU nurses, a Physicians assistant, and a family medicine doctor we were able to make it THREE HOURS before we could finally land but the baby and mom did great.”
In a viral TikTok that has since receive more than 11 million views, Julia Hansen shared photos from on board, writing “A baby was just born on this plane” and “Congratulations.”
The baby boy, named Raymond Kaimana Wade Kobe Lavaki Mounga, has been described a “miracle” by family, including his dad, Ethan Magalei, who has yet to meet him in person.
“Life. It’s a crazy thing. It’s strange knowing that millions of people on the internet know about a birth that took place on a Delta flight from Salt Lake City, Utah to Honolulu, HI. A birth I could not be there for but still blessed to see videos of,” he wrote on Facebook.
Mom Lavinia has been discharged from hospital but her baby boy will have to remain in Hawaii until he is strong enough to fly home to Utah.
Lavinia’s family has launched a GoFundMe to pay for baby Raymond’s medical fees until he can return home to Utah. Baby and mother are said to be doing well.
What an amazing experience and one which this brave mom can share with her miracle baby when he’s older. We wish this sweet baby boy all the health and strength so he can return home to his family soon. Please share.
