Hah! And we thought BREASTFEEDING on a plane freaked some people out.

The mexican (and age) aspect of the story is quite unneccessary. Congrads new mother!

It's a good thing it wasn't United, or they would have charged her for another seat.

haha sounds like a plot to secure U.S. citizenship for the baby to me.

Glad I wasn't the one to say it, Beadprincessk.

Let me translate this:
"So she couldn't have been in better hands."

really means:
"She was the luckiest person in the air that day."

The baby isn't "eligible for U.S. citizenship." The baby is a U.S. citizen.

dickius: the story doesn't specify if the baby was born in american or mexican airspace. however, i'll bet that since it was only an hour before landing in chicago, it was us airspace

Yeah, unless the flight was on an SR-71 Blackbird I'm fairly certain they'd have been in US airspace.
And I'm wholly offended the mother was allowed to uncover her naughty bits in public! I certainly hope they made her cover up with a blanket. Or at least excuse herself to the lavatory, a more acceptable area for such awful behavior! Couldn't she hold it until they reached the terminal?:P)

"We wonder if they charged her for an upgrade."
Haha I was thinking that from the start, this being Consumerist.

I wonder if they cleaned the seat afterward...

And to Hossofcourse - the nationality of the mother has everything to do with the story. Immigration is checking the flight logs very carefully to determine whether the baby is technically allowed American citizenship or not. If this catches on, the GOP is going to have to build a very high border wall indeed.

After I had my son the nurses in the hospital ran me a shower, but because of some sort of malfunction, there was no hot water on my floor. (I didn't cry during labor, but let me tell you, I cried taking that cold shower.) Now, every time I want to complain about that, I will think of giving birth on plane.

This could start a trend. Who needs to outsmart the border patrols?

Pelegius, not everyone in Mexico is poor enough to want to live near you

Pelagius-- that the border issue is a GOP-only issue will be of great surprise to Democratic Gov. Bill Richardson of New Mexico. Once again, let's remember this is a consumer blog, not a political one.

Jesus jumping pogo stick Christ. Did I imply that this is a desperate ploy by the mother to immigrate to the US? No. But is is part of the story, whether that offends your uber-sensitive sensibilities or not. Google the story - almost every headline is concerning the child's citizenship. It might interest you to know that Mexico also follows the doctrine of jus soli, which is why my cousin is a dual Mexican-US citizen.

***** It might interest you to know that Mexico also follows the doctrine of jus soli. ***** What's the benefit??? All the burittos you can eat??

Sounds like the lil' tyke should be a WORLD citizen, it being spawned in the ether and all...

Hey, sounds like they should have charged everyone a pay-per-view surcharge.

And, yeah, mom better watch her credit card to make sure the airline doesn't sneak on another fare after-the-fact.

What is jus soli?

Never mind -- I overcame my laziness and looked it up. I get it now.

My question is, How did she get onto the plane that late in her pregnancy? When I've asked airlines about their policy, most of them told me they wouldn't let pregnant women on their flights after their seventh month of gestation. I suppose it's possible that the baby in this case was two months premature, but in that case I doubt she would have been described as "healthy."

I copied this from Mexicana's website (the English part at least):

Pregnant Women

What do I have to do if I'm pregnant and would like to travel?
Pregnant woman in good health will be accepted for travel without a medical certificate except under the following circumstances:

When pregnancy is estimated to be at more than six months.

The pregnancy is not progressing normally and/or complications are expected at birth.

If any of the above circumstances apply, you will need to supply the following: A medical certificate, issued within 7 days of travel. For pregnancies in the sixth month or later, you will also need to fill a limited liability form.

Ahhhh... there's the real story. It sounds like, according to acambras post, this woman flew against Mexicana's Airlines pregancy policy. So, who's accountable if there had been complications? If the child or mother died, or perhaps either were injured, or if passengers were placed in jeopardy (we're talking about body fluids in an enclosed space and likely without much sterilization or protection), who'd have been at fault? The airline for not raising a flag, or the mother for not asking or giving thought in advance?

Things to ponder.