Negrense nurse helps woman give birth on a plane

Francis Dominic Mendoza, 25, of Barangay Tangub, Bacolod City assists a woman who gave birth to a baby boy on a plane on July 9. (Francis Dominic Mendoza Photo via Facebook)

By: Glazyl Y. Masculino

BACOLOD City – A nurse from Negros Occidental earned the admiration of netizens after he assisted a fellow passenger who gave birth to a healthy baby boy on a plane en route to the Philippines on July 9.

Francis Dominic Mendoza, 25, of Barangay Tangub here, was on board Qatar Airways from Ireland, when he assisted a Bisaya-speaking woman who went on labor.

“I was seated far from the woman when I noticed other passengers became uneasy. I went closer and learned about the situation so I helped her with the use of the available tools inside the plane’s medical kit,” he told the media.

Mendoza said they were in the middle of their flight over Thailand when the woman gave birth.

He said he was asked by the crew and the pilot on what to do next, so he suggested bringing her to the hospital since she needed proper medical attention. Thus, they had an emergency landing at Bangkok airport in Thailand.

“We stayed there for an hour before we departed for the Philippines,” he said.

He returned to the Philippines after working for a year in Ireland.

Mendoza graduated Bachelor of Science in Nursing at the University of Negros Occidental – Recoletos (Uno-R) in Bacolod City in 2013.

His post garnered more than 1,300 likes and reactions, 636 shares, and 147 comments.

Some netizens congratulated him for his good deed, telling him they were so proud of him and that he did amazing.