Dubai: A 37-year-old pregnant Filipina whose baby was overdue by two weeks, had to be deplaned as she went into labour and delivered a baby at the Dubai International Airport Clinic, officials from Dubai Health Authority (DHA) told Gulf News.
The baby boy, named Matteo Fahad, weighing 3.2kg was born to Carmilla Flores, at the International Airport’s Terminal 1 Clinic on May 19.
She was on the plane to Manila flying with Philippine Airlines.
A DHA doctor on duty said that he helped deliver the baby with his bare hands as there was no time for the mother to be taken to the hospital.
The baby’s arrival has given birth to conflicting accounts from DHA and the Dubai Corporation and Ambulance Service (DCAS).
While the mother confirmed on Thursday to Gulf News that the doctor from the DHA did deliver the baby at the airport clinic, a statement on behalf of DCAS claimed that its paramedics delivered the baby before the doctor arrived.
“The woman could not wait till the doctor arrived, and delivered the baby with the help of the paramedics from the Maternity and Childhood ambulances with no complications. The woman went into labour just before her flight, which she did not board, and her parents sought people’s help who called the ambulance services. Paramedics from the airport’s ambulances services office got to the woman within two minutes and helped her,” read the statement issued on Thursday.
However, the mother Flores told Gulf News that the paramedics did help her but the baby was delivered by the DHA doctor.
Three weeks after the incident, the mother and baby, now at their home in Dubai, are doing well.
This is Flores’ third baby and she is happy she did not have to leave her other children behind and fly to Manila for her delivery.
Dr Abdul Razzaq Hussain Juma Al Ali, a family medicine specialist on duty on May 19, told Gulf News about the dramatic incident: “It was about 7pm and I was on duty when I received the call from the paramedics of the Dubai Corporation of Ambulance Services (DCAS) that a woman had to be deplaned at Concourse D of the terminal as she was in full labour and she was being rushed in the ambulance to this clinic which is in Terminal 1. We work in close cooperation with the DCAS paramedics at the airport.”
Dr Ali, who is equipped to handle any kind of emergencies ranging from basic first-aid to heart attack resuscitation, was ready to receive the patient. He said: “Usually in cases of a woman in labour we stabilise the patient and send her to Latifa Hospital. However, when I examined this patient I realised she was two weeks overdue and there was crowning at the cervix which means the baby’s head was already out. There was no time and we took her to the resuscitation room where she delivered the baby in five minutes. I delivered the baby with my bare hands and I was relieved that this was not a complicated delivery and both the mother and child were doing well,” said Ali, who says this is not the first time he has conducted a delivery.
In Somalia, from where Dr Ali hails, he has assisted in other deliveries. However, being in the UAE for the last 22 years he has practised family medicine.
When contacted, Flores, a waitress at a wedding hall in Dubai, told Gulf News: “In the beginning when the pains started in the waiting hall, I thought I would manage this flight somehow and boarded. However, when I was on my seat ready for take-off, the pain got intense and I was scared the baby would pop out so I asked for help. The ambulance guys were very quick and they brought me to the clinic in time. The ambulance and medical team both were very professional,” said Flores who was happy not to have flown to Manila and is thrilled to be safe and secure with her family in Dubai.
