Woman who didn't know she was pregnant gives birth on plane

A 23-year-old woman who didn't know she was pregnant went into labor and gave birth on an Air Canada flight to Japan.

Canada's Global News reports that the new mom, Ada Guan, delivered a nearly full-term baby girl named Chloe on Sunday -- Mother's Day -- somewhere over the Pacific Ocean. Air Canada tweeted that mother and baby landed in Tokyo "safe and sound."

Guan's boyfriend, Wesley Branch, told Global News they had no idea they were about to become parents. He said Guan had gained some weight but took a pregnancy test and it came back negative. He also said she saw a doctor just a few weeks ago who didn't detect the pregnancy.

"I couldn't imagine. This happened completely unexpectedly," he told Japanese television.

The baby was reportedly delivered with the help of a doctor who volunteered after crew members asked passengers for medical help.

Although it may seem impossible for a woman to go through nearly nine months of pregnancy without suspecting a baby's on the way, it actually happens with some frequency. A British study found that one in 2,500 pregnancies is a surprise until labor begins.

In January, a Massachusetts woman, Katie Kropas, gave birth to a 10-pound baby girl without realizing she was pregnant until she went into labor. "I thought I had put on some Christmas season weight, but I never thought I was pregnant. Never," Kropas told CBS Boston.

"Very often, especially in your first pregnancy, you're really not aware of what you're feeling and we often have women joke and say they're feeling gas pains or they can attribute it to other natural conditions," said Dr. Kim Dever, the chair of Obstetrics and Gynecology at South Shore Hospital in South Weymouth, Massachusetts. She said the hospital sees a few such cases each year.

For the new parents who landed in Tokyo with a surprise baby, the unexpected delivery seems to have gone well.

"It turned out to be a beautiful baby girl," Branch said.

"Everyone was clapping their hands," a fellow passenger said, according to 9News Australia. "She's such a cute baby with big eyes."

In:
• Tokyo