A pregnant Afghan woman, who was fleeing the Taliban in Kabul, went into labour as she and her family evacuated aboard a US Air Force plane. The unnamed mother boarded the C-17 cargo plane with her husband and their other young child before meeting an aeromedical staging squadron at a base in the Middle East and moving on to Ramstein Air Base in Germany. She went into labour mid-flight, experiencing increasingly heavy contractions. The woman progressed into high labour and her blood pressure dropped dangerously low as the plane approached Germany, causing medical complications. The aircraft's commander took action, increasing the air pressure and decreasing altitude, which managed to "stabilise and help save the mother's life," according to a US Air Force rep. When the aircraft touched down at Ramstein, the woman went into the final stages of labour. The 86th Medical Group rushed aboard and escorted her to a makeshift delivery room in the cargo bay, where they facilitated the successful birth. The extraordinary birth took place amid turmoil for many Afghans after the Taliban seized control of Kabul and other cities, following President Joe Biden's withdrawal of US military troops from the country.