Hero mom gives birth on Frontier Airlines plane mid-flight
A heroic mom gave birth on a Frontier Airlines flight to a baby girl.
The baby came earlier than expected during the recent flight from Denver to Orlando after Shakeria Martin woke up from a nap on the flight with intense contractions.
“I was feeling fine and everything and so I went to sleep and I woke up and my contractions were, yeah...," Martin told TODAY's Sam Brock. "The first thought that ran through my mind was this cannot be happening right now. This cannot be, there’s no way I could just have this baby on this plane.”
While the flight attendants couldn't find anyone on the plane with childbirth training, they went to work themselves by gathering medical supplies and ushering Martin to the back of the plane while the pilot arranged for an emergency landing at Pensacola International Airport.
Flight attendant Diana Giraldo was one of those on the flight to assist with the delivery, who the airline praised as "exemplary" and "calm."
“I’m an older sister," Giraldo told TODAY. "And so, to me I saw this young woman she was frightened. She was uncomfortable. And when she told me she was scared there was no comfort. There was no space inside of me for any doubt. I just had to make sure that I was there for her.”
Captain Chris Nye said in a statement shared by the airline:
"Diana again went above and beyond after the completion of the flight to coordinate our return to Orlando. The whole crew really did a great job."
Nye added, "I transferred controls and flying duties to my First Officer as I coordinated the diversion. Dispatch did a great job as well by suggesting Pensacola Airport and getting a gate and paramedics ready for us. This was a job well done, and I was happy to see everyone working together to successfully deliver a newborn on an aircraft!"
According to Frontier, the mom gave her newborn the middle name Sky.
More brave moms have delivered their own babies in surprise locations.
On Sunday, a pregnant mom named Heather Skaats gave birth on the side of the road in Kentucky, while her five other children watched from inside the car.
Related: Mom gives birth on the side of the road while five kids wait in the car
Skaats, who had planned a water birth for her sixth child, squatted on the ground to catch the newborn in her hands. "He started crying right away, and he just opened his eyes and looked at me and I said, ‘Yeah, buddy that was fun, huh?'" Skaats previously told TODAY Parents.
Related: Woman has a surprise baby on flight to Hawaii
In November, Liliana Castaneda Avilia gave birth to a baby girl on a Delta flight with the help of a nurse. On the ground in Atlanta, Ga., Avilia welcomed daughter Analia Acevedo Castaneda.
And last June, opera singer Emily Geller Hardman gave birth on a New Jersey highway after leaving her cousin's wedding. "It really was quite peaceful," she told TODAY Parents.
