A third class petty officer on the Dwight D. Eisenhower aircraft carrier checked into the ship's medical clinic with stomach pains Saturday only to learn she was pregnant — and nine hours later, she delivered a healthy baby girl, Navy Times reports. "Both the mother and the baby are healthy and are doing well," said 5th Fleet spokesman Cmdr. Bill Urban.
Had the mother known she was pregnant, she would have left operational command at 20 weeks — and would never have been deployed to the Persian Gulf, where the Eisenhower was stationed. As such, the aircraft carrier wasn't exactly stocked for an infant: Baby formula, diapers, and an incubator were all flown out to the ship once it became clear the officer was pregnant. Luckily, the family practitioner on the carrier was certified in childbirth and a number of other personnel in the medical department also knew how to deliver and care for a baby. After a few hours, the mother and her newborn were airlifted to Bahrain.
"While it would have been preferred to send her to her homeport earlier, per policy, we are now focused on caring for the health and welfare of our sailor and the newest member of our Navy family," Urban said.
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