The Apple Watch proves helpful during surprise mid-flight birth

[midian182]

What just happened? There have been numerous reports of the Apple Watch's health features saving people's lives, but this case is slightly different. A woman flying from Utah to Hawaii gave birth 11 weeks early while the plane was over the ocean. Several items on the flight were used to keep the baby stable, including Apple's popular wearable.

As if giving birth on a flight isn't unusual enough, Lavinia Mounga didn't even realize she was pregnant, making her trip from Salt Lake City to Honolulu on April 28 particularly memorable. AppleInsider reports that Mounga was lucky in that a physician and three nurses trained to care for premature babies were on the plane.

"None of the equipment we have was suitable for a premature baby, and this baby was born at 29 weeks instead of the normal 40 weeks, right?" said Dr. Dale Glenn, a family physician at Straub Medical Center. "So we made baby warmers out of bottles that were microwaved. We used an Apple Watch to measure the heart rate."

Mounga and her newborn were taken to Kapiolani Medical Center for monitoring once the plane touched down in Hawaii. “If they weren’t there, I don’t think he would be here, so I’m very blessed,” she said.

You might find it surprising that the Apple Watch is able to register a baby's heartbeat, but even older version were capable of the task. Here's a video of parents using an Apple Watch Sport to send their newborn's heartbeat to distant family members.

Earlier this year, the Apple Watch's Emergency SOS was credited with saving a man's life after he fell through some ice. In 2019, its fall detection ability was able to summon emergency services when a man collapsed and fractured his skull, and there have been plenty of cases of the device detecting unknown heart conditions.

A future version of the Apple Watch could pack even more health-focused features. A recent SEC filing suggests the company will add non-invasive sensors to the wearable that measure blood glucose (for diabetics), pressure, and alcohol levels.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/89559-apple-watch-proves-helpful-during-surprise-mid-flight.html

 

[Hexic]

I'm not a fan of Apple, but this is a solid piece of hardware. My Apple Watch 3 is as solid as ever, and it's getting dated by today's standards.

 

[VitalyT]

Lavinia Mounga didn't even realize she was pregnant

Oh for f. sake... did she realize that she was on a plane?

How can a woman be 7-month pregnant and not know about it?

 

[HardReset]

Oh for f. sake... did she realize that she was on a plane?

How can a woman be 7-month pregnant and not know about it?

Like one woman said: "how woman can start giving birth without realizing she is pregnant? It happened to me."

Not so unusual as you think.

 

[Godel]

VitallyT, it's called a cryptic or stealth pregnancy.

"A cryptic pregnancy, also called a stealth pregnancy, is a pregnancy that conventional medical testing methods may fail to detect. Cryptic pregnancies aren’t common, but they’re not unheard of, either."

I saw a piece on it on local TV featuring several women. I think both were on the pill and at least one was still getting periods, or at least bleeding. A common feature is that these women are often overweight, so the size increase is just put down to their diet failing. However one of the pair was really slim, like US size 8 and she showed virtually no weight gain at all.

What Is a Cryptic Pregnancy? Symptoms, Length, and More

A cryptic pregnancy occurs when a pregnant person doesn't realize they are pregnant until they are several months in. It's a real condition, though it is rare.

www.healthline.com

 

[Gomos]

Oh for f. sake... did she realize that she was on a plane?

How can a woman be 7-month pregnant and not know about it?

I personally met a woman who had given birth without knowing. One day she just went to a hospital because she had belly pains and returned with a baby. She was considerably overweight, but still there are normally many indications that one is pregnant other than the growth...

 

[Shadowboxer]

I am a male and I do not have a womb. But I call bull on her not knowing she was pregnant. As if pregnancy is that casual.