A young Victoria couple whose baby was born on a Tokyo-bound plane will return Sunday, hoping for help and compassion.
The story of Baby Chloe’s birth aboard Air Canada Flight AC009 to a mother who said she had no idea she was pregnant has drawn celebration, donations, criticism and disbelief.
Wesley Branch, 24, told the Times Colonist he is an excited and proud dad who just wants the best start for his baby, born last Sunday at about 37 weeks, weighing seven pounds and five ounces.
“I’ve got this strong connection with her,” Branch said. “I’ve never been so emotional in my life. I’ve never been so happy. I’m so in love with this child.”
Branch and his partner Ada Guan, 23, left Victoria for Tokyo via Calgary. Guan’s father in Calgary paid for the vacation, said Branch, who is unemployed. Ada Guan worked part time as a server.
The couple did not have travel medical insurance.
During the 8,000-kilometre, 11-hour flight to Japan, Guan was moaning with severe stomach cramps and was attended to by three doctors on board.
“She was weeping in pain,” Branch said Wednesday.
“All three of the doctors said it was a miscarriage. There were no signs of life. Then all of a sudden, Ada said, ‘Wes, Wes, I feel something coming out of me’ and it was a little baby girl.”
The plane landed at Narita airport, met by a medical team, and the new mother was taken directly to hospital.
Family physician Dr. Shelley Ross, a former president of the Doctors of B.C. who at one time delivered up to 300 babies a year, said many women go a few months not knowing they are pregnant.
“But to get to term and then go into labour and not know something is amiss is almost unbelievable … I’ve seen it maybe once or twice in 40 years.”
Reasons women can go months not knowing they are pregnant can include irregular periods, being overweight or prone to weight fluctuations, denial, cultural or social pressure, or mental illness. Women can gain fewer than 10 pounds in a pregnancy, Ross said.
Weeks prior to the trip, Guan had gained weight and had stomach cramps.
“She went to the doctor and the doctor gave her a Clearblue 99.9 per cent test and she took it and it came back negative,” Branch said on Wednesday.
The pregnancy test reads the level of the hormone human chorionic gonadotropin — known as hCG — in urine about 12 to 14 days after conception. Those hCG levels will peak at eight to 11 weeks of pregnancy and then decline.
“Once you get towards the end of a pregnancy, the hormones have changed, so that a pregnancy test will be negative even if you are pregnant,” Ross said.
After the negative test, Guan thought she might have miscarried, Branch said.
In Victoria, the couple rent a small basement suite. Branch’s parents are in Penticton, while Guan’s parents are in Calgary.
“To be honest, I want to be as close to my family as possible,” Branch said.
“We don’t have much support in Victoria. We’re probably going to move to the Okanagan. I just want to get my baby and my girlfriend home safe.”
›› Friends have created a fundraising page at gofundme.com/ubm8aw
