Oyindamola Akinyera, a Nigerian woman, unexpectedly gave birth to a baby girl while on a Qatar Airways flight from Lagos to Brazil on Saturday.
Akinyera shared the extraordinary experience on her Instagram page on Wednesday, revealing that she was en route to a “honeymoon and baby-moon” destination with her husband, David. She had been cleared for air travel by her doctor prior to the trip.
Akinyera initially thought she was experiencing typical pregnancy backaches a few hours into the connecting flight from Doha to Brazil. She wrote, “A few hours later, we get to Doha, explore the grounds; everything is great, and we’re having the best time… until we get on the connecting flight to Brazil.”
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She continued, “Few hours into the flight and I start having what I thought were regular pregnancy backaches. I had been flying for hours, so it made sense. 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.”
However, the discomfort increased, prompting Akinyera to have one of the air hostesses check her vitals. She noted, “We were good. No signs of labour!” Yet, as they crossed the Atlantic, she began to feel constipated and sought help from her husband to use the restroom. It was then that she realized her water had broken and she was in labor.
“The pains kept waking me up, and the Qatar Airways air hostesses (my personal midwives) sprung into action,” Akinyera described. With assistance from a fellow passenger who was a doctor, the air hostesses set up a birthing station at the plane’s entrance.
Akinyera recalled, “They asked if there was any doctor on board, and a doctor called Carolina walked up to us and is like ‘I deliver babies.’ What in the movie scene?”
Dr. Carolina confirmed that Akinyera was fully dilated and the baby was ready to be born. At that moment, they were about 40 minutes from landing in Brazil. As contractions intensified, Akinyera’s husband prayed and supported her through the process.
“The contractions kick in, and I’m pushing in my makeshift birthing station with my husband on one side, praying intensely,” Akinyera said. “Midway, I get tired and tell them I can’t do it anymore, and my God-sent Qatar Airways crew (aka midwives) prayed over me and encouraged me to keep going.”
She concluded, “Twenty minutes before landing, God blessed us with the most precious baby girl. David and I’s hearts are filled with immense joy. I have seen God move countless times in my life, but this one beats all others. I had a supernatural birth, and it’s all thanks to God Almighty.”
After landing safely in Brazil, Akinyera and her newborn were taken to the hospital, where both mother and baby are doing well.
