A woman who went into premature labor while flying from Israel to the United States safely delivered a healthy baby girl after a coordinated effort involving a Hatzolah volunteer, a Lakewood ob-gyn, and the Jewish community in Rome.

The emergency unfolded Wednesday aboard El Al flight LY25 en route to Newark, when the expectant mother—who had been cleared to fly by an Israeli physician—began experiencing contractions mid-flight.

Levi Rubin, a member of Hatzolah of Central Jersey, was aboard the aircraft. After conducting an initial assessment of the woman’s condition, Rubin used the airplane’s wifi to call Dr. Clara Surowitz, an ob-gyn who serves as MD-9 on Hatzolah of Central Jersey and leads Tru Women’s Health in Lakewood. Dr. Surowitz also delivers babies at Jersey Shore University Medical Center.

The pilot needed a decision within minutes about whether to divert—a window that would close once the aircraft traveled too far over the Atlantic to reach land without significant delay.

Dr. Surowitz spoke directly with the woman and, based on her symptoms, advised the pilot to make an emergency landing. The pilot immediately altered course to Rome.

The expectant father faced an unexpected crisis: stranded in a foreign city, his luggage bound for New York, and his wife rushed to a hospital 45 minutes from Rome’s Jewish community.

Someone on the plane connected him with Chabad-Lubavitch in Rome. Chani Hazan, co-director of Chabad di Monteverde, was beginning her morning when the message arrived. She and her husband, Rabbi Shalom Hazan, mobilized immediately.

“It was very special how the community rallied to support this family,” Chani Hazan told Chabad.org. “So many people reached out offering food, baby clothes and places to stay throughout the day.”

An ambulance and medical team were waiting on the tarmac when the aircraft landed. Two hours later, the woman delivered a healthy baby girl—five weeks ahead of schedule.

Mother and newborn are both doing well. Family members from New Jersey are traveling to Rome to help navigate the logistics of returning home with their new baby and to support the family as they work through medical paperwork and documentation.

Rome’s Jewish community continues to assist them with accommodations and practical support as they prepare for their journey back to the United States.

“We know that the Jewish people are one big family, and we’re all responsible for one another,” Hazan reflected. “It was incredible to see that in action today, and it’s special to have played a small part in this very unique story.”

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)