Baby born in helicopter

A young Papua New Guinean mother has given birth in a helicopter 1200m over the Torres Strait after enduring two days in labour and a hellish trip by dinghy to get help.

But in Thursday Island Hospital yesterday, where Basau Warapa, 19, was still recovering from her early Saturday morning ordeal, the terror of giving birth in mid-air in a cramped, noisy helicopter had been replaced by gratitude to the paramedic who saved her baby’s life.



When the Queensland Ambulance Service’s Rosie McEachern called in to visit Ms Warapa and check on her still unnamed baby daughter, the first-time mum couldn’t stop smiling.

"She was actually smiling the minute the baby was out. I think she was more relieved than anything because she was in labour for so long," Ms McEachern said.