An American Sailor Didn't Know She Was Pregnant Until She Gave Birth on an Aircraft Carrier
An unnamed sailor in the U.S. Navy was working aboard the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower in the Persian Gulf when she started to have stomach pains. She checked in with the medical center onboard the aircraft carrier, and nine hours later, she gave birth to a 7-pound baby girl, according to the Navy Times.
As soon as it was clear that the sailor was about to give birth, the aircraft carrier flew in diapers, formula, and an incubator. Luckily, the doctor onboard had experience delivering babies. After the sailor gave birth to her healthy daughter, both mother and child were airlifted to Bahrain with a medical escort and were on their way to a hospital. Previously, she was assigned to Carrier Air Wing Three, which had planes flying over Iraq and Syria.
According to the Virginian-Pilot, expectant sailors are expected to report their pregnancies within two weeks of a doctor's confirmation, but neither the mother nor the chain of command was reportedly aware before the birth. Pregnant women are only allowed to stay on a ship up until 20 weeks of pregnancy, and that's only if the ship is less than six hours away from an emergency medical facility.
"While it would have been preferred to send her to her homeport earlier, per policy, we are now focused on caring for the health and welfare of our Sailor and the newest member of our Navy family," Cmdr. Bill Urban, spokesperson for the U.S. Naval Forces Central Command, said in a statement.
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