Air travel is often a nightmare for parents. Flying in an airplane is already stressful, but when you have to fly with a baby, this stress increases tenfold.

On the plane, you don’t just have to deal with your child. You have to deal with other passengers when your child inevitably makes them angry or worried.

The air pressure can irritate the baby’s ears, causing him to cry in pain, and this can affect the rest of the passengers.

Passengers often show little tolerance for a constantly crying infant or toddler in its first year, although most try to be as tolerant of noise as possible.

Anyone who has flown before is familiar with the sensation of increasing pressure in their ears and the almost ‘pop’ that we hear and feel when the pressure equalizes.

There are many tips on how to deal with this phenomenon: swallow something, yawn, even take ibuprofen.

Unfortunately, very young children cannot be taught these tricks, as they simply do not understand what is happening.

They only realize that there is something wrong with their ears, besides, they may even experience pain, so children react accordingly.

One father from Ohio learned from his own experience how difficult it can be to fly with a child. According to ABC News,

Ruby Swift recently got custody of his newborn daughter, so he flew from Ohio to Arizona to pick her up. He was overjoyed that his child would soon be living with him.

When he took the ticket for the flight, he contacted the airline workers to assure them that he had the

proper documents needed to return the child. Despite his efforts, the airline did not let him and his child on the plane.

Naturally, Swift asked for his money back, but the airline told him the refund would take seven days.

This was not due to any malicious intent. Refunds are usually made back to the bank they came from, and different banks

or credit card systems will take different times to process these payments. Unfortunately, it is not so easy to get a refund for a ticket bought on the Internet.

In addition, the airline also informed him that a child must be at least seven days old to fly on their planes.

Absolutely no exceptions can be made, even if he presents a certificate from a doctor. As a result, Swift and his newborn daughter ended up in Arizona without money, a car, or a place to live.

The refusal of the airline to land was well justified. Babies face many challenges during air travel.

Many doctors do not recommend taking very young children on a plane, especially infants a few days old. There are many reasons for this.

Newborns are especially vulnerable to disease. This is because their immune system is not yet fully developed.

Early in life, babies receive the necessary antibodies to fight disease from their mother. Breastfeeding is an important part of this

process (although mothers who cannot breastfeed their babies need not worry as modern infant formulas are specifically designed as substitutes).

During air travel, a newborn is potentially exposed to many viruses. Some studies have found that close seating and the overall low-ventilation

space of aircraft significantly increases the rate of disease transmission compared to other forms of travel.

In addition, as the Mayo Clinic explains, a baby’s breathing can be affected by changes in air pressure,

which can lead to serious consequences, especially in newborns who already have health problems (for example, from premature births).

Therefore, many airlines restrict air travel for children of a certain age. While some waive these restrictions when presenting a doctor’s notice,

others consider the risk of potential harm too great and will not allow parents with such young children on board. Many insurance companies warn their customers

that they should check what restrictions their particular airline has. Be sure to carefully read what is written

in the fine print, as well as all the conditions when you book tickets and plan a trip with a newborn.

Luckily, Joy Ringofer came to the rescue of Swift and his daughter. Ringofer was a nurse in the hospital where the girl was in the first days of her life.

She became attached to the child even before the girl was given to her father. When Ringofer heard of Swift’s

predicament, she invited him and her daughter to her home, where they stayed until they could fly away.

Swift promised to keep in touch with Ringofer, saying that someday he and his daughter would visit their savior.

After enough time had passed and a new plane ticket was purchased, father and daughter were eventually able to fly back to Ohio to start a new life together.

Swift told the Inside Edition:

‘I didn’t expect her to say, ‘I’ll take you home.’ I thought, ‘Is she going to take me back to Cleveland?’

But in fact, she brought me to her house, fed me and made sure that everything was fine with my child.