See Photos: Nigerian woman amongst rescued immigrants gives birth on one of the boats

Over the weekend and on Monday, about 7,000
illegal immigrants were rescued from overcrowded
boats crossing the Mediterranean into Italy. One
of the migrants was a pregnant Nigerian woman.
The woman went into labour while being
rescued from a boat and gave birth to a baby girl.
The baby has been named Francesca Marina as a
tribute to the Italian Navy (Marina Militare).
Crew from the Italian navy ship Bettica found the
Nigerian woman in labour on a boat – one of 34
vessels intercepted over the weekend. This photo
above (left) released by the Italian navy shows
the baby girl sleeping in a makeshift cradle
decorated with a pink bow.
Numbers risking the journey in search of a better
life have continued to rise two weeks after as
many as 900 people drowned in the worst
Mediterranean shipwreck in living memory.