Minnesota doctor helps teenager get through labor while on flight
MINNEAPOLIS — A Minnesota doctor jumped into action in an unexpected place this weekend.
Dr. Sheila Flynn, a family medicine doctor with North Memorial Health Clinic in Roseville, was on a flight Sunday into Minneapolis when a teenager on board went into active labor.
Flynn and others helped coach the woman, a 19-year-old named Maya, with her breathing and kept her calm.
"It's a little scary, because honestly, what can you really do on an airplane?" Flynn said. "But you want to show up for people."
As soon as they landed, an ambulance took Maya to a hospital in Minneapolis. Flynn followed right behind her and took part in the delivery.
"I was really privileged to be kind of her stand-in mom," Flynn said.
Maya gave birth to a healthy baby boy and is doing great.
What makes the story even more remarkable is that it was Maya's first time on a plane, and she doesn't speak English.
"Some languages are universal," Flynn said. "When ladies are in labor, there's some things that we all understand, and it helps to be a mom."
Flynn has visited multiple times since the birth, bringing Maya clothes and a cell phone before she continues her journey to her father near Green Bay, Wisconsin.
She says Maya's made a big impression on her with how brave she's been.
"Sometimes in life, something occurs right in front of you while you're taking a nap on an airplane, and you have a chance to show up for someone," Flynn said.
Flynn has two daughters around Maya's age. She says if either of them were ever in a similar position, she hopes someone would step up to help.
