Oyindamola Akinyera, a Nigerian woman, made headlines this week after giving birth to a baby girl aboard a Qatar Airways flight from Lagos to Brazil on Saturday.
Akinyera shared her extraordinary experience on Instagram, detailing the remarkable events that unfolded during the flight.
In her post, Akinyera explained that she and her husband, David, were en route to their “honeymoon and baby-moon” destination.
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.
Her Instagram post described the situation: “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.
“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.”
As the flight progressed over the Atlantic, Akinyera experienced severe discomfort and asked her husband to accompany her to the restroom, thinking she needed to relieve herself. To her surprise, her water had broken, and she realised she was in labour.
The post continued, “The pains kept waking me up, and the Qatar Airways air hostesses (my personal midwives) 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.
“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,” she concluded.
ALSO READ THESE TOP STORIES FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNE
and then