You're probably wondering whether this chapter is about two hostesses helping to deliver a baby in flight. It isn't but we came close.

This event took place, I think, in the late 70s. The flight was a summer evening one to Broken Hill, on the South Australian/New South Wales border The day had been a scorcher and although Broken Hill was always hotter than Adelaide, when we touched down and disembarked the passengers, the searing heat of the day had dissipated to a warm temperature with a pleasant breeze; very unusual for this part of the country.

I was flying in the senior position which meant I was responsible for the smooth functioning of the aircraft cabin. The junior hostess had the job of taking unaccompanied children to the terminal and/or people in need of assistance. When my co-hostess returned she informed me that there was a heavily pregnant woman who wanted to fly to Adelaide to have her baby in the better equipped hospitals in the city. That was understandable; however I gritted my teeth, as the last thing I wanted on the flight home was to help deliver a baby in flight. There was a scant paragraph or two in our first aid manual about labour and childbirth, but I was sure that would not have prepared either of us for the reality. You also couldn't count on a doctor or nurse being conveniently on board.

Neither the other hostess or I were married at that time and between us, not much knowledge of what happened during pregnancy or childbirth. That was a date far into the future.

Apparently the lady concerned was on medication to delay the birth until such time as she hopefully arrived in Adelaide and naturally she desperately hoped that ASA would allow her to fly. It wasn't recommended that women in the late stages of pregnancy fly. I don't know whether that still applies, but probably.

I was always under the impression that the Captain ruled the roost on his aircraft and made ultimate decisions like these, but this one passed the buck straight over to us, or rather me, as I was the senior hostess. Believe me, this was a rare time when the senior hostess had the final say.in a situation such as this one. He said; I'll leave it to you girls to decide and I'll go along with whatever that decision is.

At the time I thought he was being sexist, but I guess he realised that we'd be dealing with the emergency in the cabin, although he would have needed to call an ambulance to meet the aircraft.

Anyway, although we were tempted to desert the aircraft and run off into the nearby scrub to hide, we didn't of course and we both agreed that she should be allowed to fly. I didn't have the heart to leave this lady stranded in Broken Hill and I knew that the hospitals in Adelaide would be better equipped and much safer for her and her baby.

During the flight, I cast glances at her during our evening drinks service and frequently enquired as to how she was feeling. We tried to make her as comfortable as possible and fortunately the flight passed without incident . The medication had done its job.

We arranged for an ambulance to meet the aircraft to take her straight to the Queen Victoria hospital, which was a major maternity hospital back then. As she left, we both wished her and her baby well and when she'd left, we both breathed sighs of blissful relief.

Sadly, I didn't ever hear when her baby was born and whether she had a boy or girl.

Today, that child would be in his/her early forties. Just amazing how time flies.

The junior hostess always had to see the passengers safely down the stairs