FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. (WSVN) - Baby on board!
A Spirit Airlines flight from Fort Lauderdale landed with one more passenger than it had taken off with Saturday night, after a woman went into labor as the plane headed to Dallas.
Cristina Penton, from Phoenix, was 36 weeks pregnant when she gave birth mid-flight to a healthy baby boy named Christoph.
“Everything started happening very quickly,” Penton said. “I didn’t think I was having the baby because it was too soon, but after a few minutes I knew I needed medical attention.”
Another passenger was a registered nurse and helped with the delivery.
Once the 7-pound baby was born, the flight was diverted to New Orleans so the family could recover at a local hospital.
“A baby being born during a flight is very rare, but our flight attendants are trained to handle medical emergencies in-flight and they have access to doctors on the ground via in-flight communication,” Spirit spokesman Paul Berry said.
Spirit Airlines gave Cristina some baby gifts, and even awarded Christoph an annual free flight for him and a guest – for the rest of his life!
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