A nurse has saved the life of a baby born at 25 weeks and weighing just 820 grams, and she did all of this mid-flight.
A 25-week pregnant woman was travelling on a flight from Haikou to Beijing when she suddenly went into labour. In the plane’s toilet, she gave birth to a tiny baby girl, weighing just 820g.
Chen Shanshan, a neonatal nurse who happened to be among the passengers, immediately responded to an urgent call for medical assistance. Noticing that the baby was abnormally pale, unresponsive and not breathing, Chan began emergency cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) on the baby girl until the newborn’s heart rate stabilised.
The nurse also asked the crew for a hot water bottle to keep the baby warm.
“Premature babies must be kept warm. Even one degree of decrease in body temperature could lead to sepsis, and the mortality rate could rise”, Chen explained.
The plane made an emergency landing to get the mother and baby to a hospital as quickly as possible. Chen continued CPR for about an hour and a half until the baby was admitted to the emergency room. She said: “It was only as I saw the baby taken into the rescue room that I realised my arms were numb”.
The newborn’s father later said that the baby girl had gained 50 grams within two weeks and personally thanked Chen for her assistance: “Thank you for being there at the critical moment. We will tell our kid and she will remember you forever”.
The baby girl was born at 25 weeks, which is only one week after the abortion time limit in the United Kingdom. The last time the abortion limit was lowered in 1990, the improved survival rates for extremely prematurely born babies was one of the key considerations that motivated this change. By the same logic, and informed by the improved survival rates for babies born at 22 and 23 weeks gestation, the abortion time limit should also be lowered now.
In the decade to 2019 alone, the survival rate for extremely premature babies born at 23 weeks doubled, prompting new guidance from the British Association of Perinatal Medicine (BAPM) that enables doctors to intervene to save premature babies from 22 weeks gestation. The previous clinical guidance, drafted in 2008, set the standard that babies who were born before 23 weeks gestation should not be resuscitated.
Right To Life UK spokesperson, Catherine Robinson, said “Pregnancy does not always go to plan and premature births can occur at the most inconvenient times. Fortunately, a neonatal nurse happened to be on the flight and was able to help the mother and child. Her quick actions undoubtedly saved the life of this fragile newborn”.
