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Woman Gives Birth On Philippines-To-SFO Flight

SAN FRANCISCO INT'L AIRPORT (CBS SF) - Aida Alamillo, 41, knew she was in for a long flight when she boarded a San Francisco-bound plane in Manila Monday night.

But despite being nearly nine months pregnant, the Filipino woman said she wasn't expecting what came next—her son's birth mere hours before the Boeing 747 landed.

"I didn't expect I would have a baby there...it just happened," she said Tuesday from her room at the Mills-Peninsula Medical Center in Burlingame, where she and her newborn were transported upon landing in San Francisco.

KCBS' Holly Quan Reports:

Although she was due to give birth on Sept. 28, Alamillo said she got the ok to fly from her doctor in the Philippines and Philippine Airlines medical personnel. She said she was in a rush to visit her ailing father in Boston, where she plans to live.

The mother of four was traveling with her 13-year-old son, whom she said alerted flight attendants during the flight that she was experiencing stomach pains.

When what she quickly realized were contractions grew stronger, flight attendants led Alamillo to a private spot in a Business Class cabin on the plane's upper deck.

A trio of nurses traveling on the flight came up to help after a flight attendant announced that a passenger was going into labor, she said.

At 3:25 p.m. Monday, just a few hours before the plane was set to land, Alamillo gave birth to a healthy baby boy.

"It happened very fast," she said.

Philippine Airlines officials said the plane's passengers burst into applause after hearing the baby's cries fill the cabin.

The flight crew alerted a medical team on the ground to prepare to transport Alamillo and her son.

On Tuesday, the pair rested comfortably at the hospital.

Alamillo named her newborn son Kevin Raymar Francis Domingo—adding the name "Francis" as a nod to his birth en route to San Francisco.

(Copyright 2011 by CBS San Francisco. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

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