The RAAF Aero Medical Evacuation Team has delivered two babies on United Nations helicopters recently.

Babies are delivered by air in East Timor thanks to the work of a RAAF Aero Medical Evacuation (AME) team. Nursing Officer, Squadron Leader Jackie Hardy, Doctor, Flight Lieutenant Steve Cook and Medic, Corporal Colin Pitts delivered two babies on United Nations helicopters in June and July.

The first baby arrived on 18 June. The evacuation of an East Timorese mother having difficulties with childbirth became very exciting when the baby's head appeared five minutes into the flight from the Oecussi Enclave to Dili. About 15 minutes later, a healthy baby boy was born in East Timorese airspace approximately half way between Oecussi and Dili.

'The mother did a great job' Jackie said. 'She was a little bit frightened when we took off but she got through the birth with no problems. I think the vibrations of the helicopter and the movement helped as well.'

Once they arrived at the Dili Heliport, mother, child and father were transferred from the UNTAET Canadian Helicopter Company Super Puma aircraft to a civilian ambulance to be taken to the Dili National Hospital.

This was Steve Cook's first hands-on delivery since his medical training. 'The last time I did this was at the University of Queensland in 1999,' he said. Steve, who has been in Timor for three months, serves at home at 3 RAAF Hospital in Richmond.

Jackie has been in Timor for a month and normally works at RAAF Base Amberley. She is the Officer in Charge of the Aero-Medical Staging Facility which consists of two, three-person teams that provide 24 hour on-call aero-medical evacuation support to the Peace Keeping Force. Corporal Pitts hails from RAAF Base Pierce.

The most recent airborne addition to the East Timorese population arrived on 14 July. The Hardy, Cook, Pitts AME team took off from Dili within half an hour of the first request for assistance. The destination this time was Odeccomo, a small village in the Bobonaro district where Australian troops provide security.

The 20-minute flight in a Russian MI8 helicopter ended at a tight Landing Zone. This was a 'hot load' as there was not room for the helicopter to complete the 'shut down' procedure. Within 10 minutes an East Timorese mother who had been in labour for 24 hours with her ninth child was on the aircraft with her worried husband. The expectant father stopped to say a quick prayer before boarding a helicopter for the first time.

The baby's head was present throughout the flight to Dili. The mother remained calm while the Russian flight crew grabbed anxious glances through the curtain that separates the cockpit from the cabin. The father was determined to get his wife to hospital, often trying to keep his wife's knees together to keep his child in.

The AME team worked well together throughout the flight. 'I am the midwife, so Steve asked me to look after things with his assistance while Colin was ready with suction, oxygen and support throughout,' Jackie explained.

A healthy baby boy was delivered in the back of the helicopter on the tarmac at the Comoro Airfield. Mum, dad and son were all in good shape.

'There are highs and lows in this job - this was definitely a high,' Jackie said.

The AME team members which serve with the PKF enjoy their work but are often confronted with distressing scenes. A few hours after this happy trip the team was back out on a job where a day-old baby in respiratory distress could not be helped and died.

The PKF provides aero-medical evacuation services to East Timorese civilians when PKF aircraft are available. Nearly half of all East Timorese cases involve mothers in difficulty during childbirth. This is the second and third time a baby has arrived on United Nations helicopters in East Timor.

By CAPT Jeff Squire