While Shellesha Woodstock's major concern seems to be getting her one-month-old child registered, we think it only natural that the circumstances of that baby's birth be investigated.

As The Gleaner reported yesterday, Latesha Julene Clarke, who is now literally without a nationality, was born en route to Jamaica from The Cayman Islands. And, while we sympathise with Woodstock, as her child is now caught in a nationality dilemma, we question how she came to be on Cayman Airways Limited Flight 600 in such an advanced state of pregnancy in the first place.

Most major airlines will not allow a pregnant woman to travel after 34 weeks into the pregnancy and while we do not know if Woodstock's baby girl was born prematurely, there must have been some concern as to her condition prior to boarding.

We accept that it is a very short flight (the aeroplane left 10 minutes late and Latesha Clarke was born 15 to 18 minutes after it took off, with touchdown taking place 10-12 minutes after that), so the chances of a near mile-high birth would have been reduced. But the possibility, however slight, did become a reality, and while it may make for a good movie scene, an in-flight birth is nothing to be excited about.

The possible complications of childbirth are numerous and we are happy that the child came through in good condition from what must have been very cramped conditions, as the inter-island aircraft are not very large.

We do not know if Woodstock chose to leave The Cayman Islands to have her first baby in Jamaica without coercion of any sort or why she was in the country in the first place. But, less than a month ago, The Sunday Gleaner carried a story that could shed some light on the mid-flight delivery. Appearing under the headline, 'Situating those deemed stateless children' on Sunday, October 7, the story stated in part that, "It is believed that some children born to Jamaicans living in The Cayman Islands are growing up without the benefit of rights usually extended to other individuals across the globe. This is because in recent years, the small, but economically flourishing British colony has revamped its immigration policy, barring all children born to non-Caymanians from acquiring Caymanian citizenship. The Cayman Islands is one of the few countries in the world in which children are born, but are excluded from automatically becoming citizens."

And it ends: "While The Sunday Gleaner was unable to get the exact number for children born to Jamaicans in The Cayman Islands since March 1977, and who have been refused Caymanian citizenship, sources claim the number is in the thousands."

This, then, seems to be the rub; if the perceived trend continues, then Latesha Julene Clarke would have been refused Caymanian citizenship anyway, which makes the debate on citizenship moot. It does not, however, mean that another such situation of a potential in-flight birth between The Cayman Islands and Jamaica will not happen and all precaution should be taken to ensure that it does not recur.

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