CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) – A woman who gave birth at an airport in North Carolina has given the baby a name tied to where she was born.
News outlets report Nereida Araujo went into labor Wednesday on a flight from Tampa, Florida, to Charlotte, North Carolina. American Airlines spokeswoman Crystal Byrd says the flight crew radioed medics who helped deliver the baby on the plane once it landed.
Araujo says she named her newborn daughter Lizyana Sky Taylor. She says the middle name Sky was chosen because the girl was born at the airport.
Passenger Eric Linne says on Facebook that a crowd burst into spontaneous applause when Araujo and the baby were brought off the plane.
Araujo, her husband and two other children had been traveling to Pennsylvania for Thanksgiving.
Nereida Araujo said everything happened so quick.
Araujo, her husband and her then two kids were traveling from Tampa to Pennsylvania for Thanksgiving. They said they had a short, 20-minute layover in Charlotte.
“I was sleeping and I felt like a pop in my lower back,” Araujo said. “I just felt like liquid and I woke my husband up.”
She said she knew her water broke and her baby was on the way, 11 days early. Araujo said her doctor and the airline both cleared her to fly, even though she was 38 weeks pregnant.
Fortunately, a passenger with medical know-how helped the new mom of three through the whole process.
There was a lady there, she was so sweet,” Araujo said. “She helped me with my breathing and everything.”
The pilots expedited the landing and with first responders waiting, Araujo delivered a healthy baby girl within minutes.
“I just want to thank them so much,” Araujo said. “Everybody was so great. They’re like my heroes. It was an experience that I will always remember.”
Araujo and her new baby named Sky are expected to be released from the hospital on Friday and will continue their journey to Pennsylvania to see family before they head home to Florida.
