Indian Doctor helps deliver baby on trans-Atlantic flight

It's safe to say that Dr. Natarajan Raman, a radiation oncologist from Woodbury, doesn't usually get to deliver happy news like he did Wednesday morning.
"I'm usually dealing with patients at the end of life, so it was a very pleasant surprise dealing with the beginning of life," he said. "But I'm not planning to switch specialties."
Raman was on his way home from a trip to India when he helped deliver a baby girl on Northwest Airlines flight 59 from Amsterdam to Boston. As the plane soared over Canada, he was sipping a cup of tea and reading the newspaper when a call for any medical personnel came across the intercom.
A young woman was having contractions and was ready to give birth. Raman, who works at Hennepin County Medical Center, and a doctor from Massachusetts, Paresh Thakker, told the pilot that the baby would likely be delivered before the plane could make an emergency landing. They used the plane's emergency medical kit and the baby girl was born about 10 minutes later.
Even though it had been almost 20 years since he delivered a baby, Raman, who had been in India attending his 25th medical school reunion, said his memory was still intact.
The flight landed at 10:29 a.m., about 90 minutes after the baby was born. The mother and baby were transported to Massachusetts General Hospital, where they were in good condition.
Chris Kelly, a spokesperson for Delta Air Lines, which acquired Northwest in October, said the company does not impose travel restrictions on pregnant women, though it recommends that women in their eighth month of pregnancy consult a doctor before flying.
31/12/08 Lora Pabst/Minneapolis Star Tribune, USA

To Read the News in full at Source, Click the Headline

Categories: Foreign Jan 2009