DESTINY put Doctors Demira Padayachee and Jessica Berry on a flight from Durban to Cape Town.
The two were on hand to help a woman give birth to a healthy baby boy when she went into labour just before take-off, on June 17.
Padayachee, of Durban, who had boarded the Lift GE375 plane at the King Shaka International Airport, said it was no coincidence that the flight was “filled with medical personnel”.
Also on board was Jessica Berry, a general practitioner from Cape Town.
Coincidentally, Berry and Padayachee had served together as interns a few years ago, at the Pietermaritzburg Hospital complex (Greys, Edendale and Northdale hospitals), in the Obstetrics and Paediatrics ward.
The two only realised they were on the same flight when the cabin crew had asked for a doctor’s assistance.
Padayachee is a medical researcher based in Cape Town and graduated from the University of Cape Town in 2020.
She was in Durban for Father’s Day while Berry had spent the weekend at the Drakensberg on holiday.
The two came face to face in the skywalk – between the plane and the airport – when they delivered their first “out of office” baby.
“I was sitting in an aisle seat in row 10D. I noticed the cabin crew walk in and out but did not think much of it at first. Then, a crew member asked if there were any doctors present, and I immediately stood up and went to see what was happening.
“By the time I got to the mom who was in labour, Jess was already there. We just had this quick moment where we looked at each other and then got to work,” said Padayachee.
“We were very limited with resources but the cabin crew managed to get us gloves. We just tried to make the mother as comfortable as possible. While we were busy with her, I was so surprised to see other medical professionals come
out of the plane to help us. There were other medical students and nurses on board who rallied support.
“We were strangers on a plane and then this happened.
“We worked together like we knew
each other,” Padayachee added.
Berry was seated near the nose of the plane, in seat 1F and was one of the first people to assist the mother in labour. Berry graduated from Wits University in 2020 and now practises as a GP in
Somerset West. “I spent some time on holiday in the Drakensberg with my partner; we were heading back home.”
She too had responded to the airline staffs’ call for medical assistance.
“When we got outside, I saw the mom lying down on the skywalk between the plane and airport. From what I saw, it appeared that her water had already broken and the baby was on his way.
“I had no idea that Demira was on the plane but was happy to see her there. To be honest, it was just another day at the office but it was definitely my first time delivering a baby in a public place like an airport.
“We did not cut the umbilical cord. We delivered the baby and handed him to the mom. We covered them both and waited until the paramedics arrived. The baby and mother were fine when we left to get back into the plane,” Berry said.
Padayachee said she was a “black and white, facts and science” type of person.
“But, honestly I can’t explain how a pregnant mother ended up giving birth on the same flight that so many medical professionals was on. Maybe it was destiny,” Padayachee said.
Lift airlines said the mother had asked for privacy during this time but said “it is a beautiful and healthy baby boy”.
Jonathan Ayache, Lift CEO, said the mother had notified staff she was in labour while they were getting a wheelchair for her to board the plane.
Ayache said they got in touch with the family of the woman after she left the airport for the eThekwini Hospital and confirmed that the mother and baby were in good health.
Both Ayache and Padayachee commended the Lift cabin crew aboard flight G375 for their composure during the birthing process.
“An expectant mom was assisted by our crew shortly after boarding the flight, as she had expressed that she was not feeling well. Safety is always our priority, and while the mother was under the regulated 32-week mark, it was safest for her to disembark.”
The POST