Pregnant Nigerian woman rescued from Mediterranean sea delivers a baby girl.

The Guardian (U.K.) reports that the baby girl was born on an Italian navy vessel after her mother became one of nearly 6,800 migrants rescued in the Mediterranean in the last three days.

In honor of  her naval rescuers – the Italian Marina Militare – the newborn was named Francesca Marina on Monday. She is the sixth baby to be born on a navy vessel since 2013, one of which arrived on Christmas Day last year.
The girl and her  mother were said to be in good health on the Bettica ship, which was hosting 654 migrants saved in four separate operations since Sunday.
Carlotta Sami, a UNHCR spokeswoman, said the mother and her baby would be taken directly to hospital upon arrival in Italy. She said despite their vulnerability, pregnant women have no choice but to take the dangerous journey across the Mediterranean.
“There are different reasons why the women are pregnant. There are families of refugees, women who started their trip months before and suffer abuse during their trip. Pregnancy could be the result of abuse,” she said. “They decide to take the trip because they cannot go back, they do not have other options.”