MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Good Friday mid air birth featuring “Angel” and “Barbara”

Dr Jenny Cook, right, with new mother Aline and baby Barbara delivered at 10,000m.

An Australian doctor on a trans-Pacific flight was upgraded to first class and given a bottle of vintage champagne after delivering a baby for a Brazilian who didn't even know she was pregnant, news reports said on Sunday.

Dr Jenny Cook, 37, has spoken for the first time about performing a high-risk breech birth in a flight attendant's seat, with only a basic first aid kit and emergency oxygen mask on hand. Dozing passengers remained oblivious as the healthy baby â€" Barbara â€" was making a surprise entrance into the world on Good Friday at more than 10,000m. The drama unfolded last month when a 26-year-old Brazilian woman, known only as Aline, complained of back pain about 10 hours into the Santiago-bound flight from Auckland. Lan Chile flight crew approached the Flinders Medical Centre gynecologist for help, because her boarding pass identified her as a doctor. Although Aline was having contractions and her waters had broken, the distressed woman was adamant she was not pregnant. But after an internal examination Dr Cook confirmed the blonde traveler was 9cm dilated, and there was little time to waste. The most concerning discovery was that the baby was in the breech position, which normally requires a caesarean birth. "It was completely bizarre; I couldn't believe it was happening," Dr Cook said this week. "I was asking her about her back pain, and she said she went to the toilet and passed a lot of water. "When I said, 'We are going to have a baby very soon', a flight attendant offered to boil water and get warm blankets, but I said to her that only happens in the movies". "I didn't know what was going to happen, if the baby was going to breathe, if the mother was going to bleed. And if I had to make any cuts to get the baby out, were they going to give me a plastic knife?" Concerned by the prospect of an in-flight delivery, the pilot offered to make an emergency landing on Easter Island. But Dr Cook maintained her calm, even cracking jokes despite the tension-filled cabin. "It was Good Friday, and I said, don't you think that's kind of funny? Easter Island?" she remembers. "They spoke Spanish and it was lost in translation but after a while they understood and laughed . . . but they said, 'Really, do you want us to land the plane?" With the baby already on the way, Dr Cook was forced to perform the delivery onboard, next to the toilets and meal preparation area. Blankets were spread on the cabin floor, the curtains were drawn and Aline was moved to a seat with her head against the window. The language barrier meant one of the flight attendants became a translator for doctor and patient, who spoke Portuguese. With four stunned and stressed crew members watching on, Dr Cook guided the baby â€" named Barbara â€" into the world in a matter of minutes. Barbara was given an emergency oxygen mask as a precaution but had no difficulty breathing. Sutures were used to tie the umbilical chord, which was cut with scissors shortly after. "I held her up by the legs, and put her on her mum's stomach," Dr Cook said. "The staff said, 'What do we do now?' And I said, "Take photos." Aline was ushered to the front of the plane where she breastfed her baby for the remainder of the journey, which took about 2 1/2 hours. "They said, 'We are going to land ahead of time'; we would have got a speeding fine if there were cameras in the air," Dr Cook said. Ground staff sent congratulations to mum and baby in Spanish over the console, with a medical team boarding on touchdown. And Dr Cook's efforts did not go un-recognized â€" she was upgraded to first class, given a bottle of French Tattinger 1998 champagne and thanked profusely. "The passengers didn't even know what had happened," she said. "There must be easier ways to get an upgrade." On her return flight home to Australia a month later, she was presented with French perfume and a kiss of thanks by the pilot. A grateful Aline has since emailed her hero to let her know she and Barbara are doing well, calling Dr Cook "my angel".(Agencies)