SPACE CENTER, Houston -- The newborn son of America's first astronaut couple was hospitalized today for a breathing problem characterized as fairly common and not serious.
Astronaut Margaret Rhea Seddon gave birth Monday to the 7-pound, 2-ounce baby, who was named Paul Seddon Gibson.
Astronaut father Robert L. 'Hoot' Gibson initially reported both baby and mother were doing well. But a National Aeronautics and Space Administration spokesman said because of breathing difficulties the infant was flown by helicopter from Clear Lake Hospital to Houston's Hermann Hospital.
NASA spokesman Steve Nesbitt said the baby's problem was 'fairly common' and apparently was caused by the child breathing fluids during delivery. The baby was delivered by Caesarian section, Nesbitt said.
'The baby has improved overnight. Everything is going fine,' Nesbitt said.
He said doctors at Hermann could better monitor the baby. Ms. Seddon was expected to join the baby at Hermann.
'Any time that a baby has a problem at the hospital down here, it is transferred to one of the Houston hospitals with better facilities,' Nesbitt said.
He did not say what type of treatment the baby was receiving.
A Johnson Space Center spokesman said Ms. Seddon's astronaut status will not be affected by the birth. After maternity leave, the spokesman said, 'She will pick up her training where she left off.
'The majority of the astronauts have children, but this is the first time we have an astronaut couple with a child,' the spokesman said.
Gibson's mother, Mrs. Paul Gibson of Westminster, Calif., said before difficulties arose she spoke with the couple and both were extremely happy about the birth.
'They seemed very elated,' Mrs. Gibson said. 'She said he (the baby) had all his fingers and toes, had blue eyes and feet like Hoot's. They're narrow.
'He (Gibson) was thrilled. I think he's real happy to have a boy.'
Asked if the boy might become an astronaut, Mrs. Gibson joked: 'He better at least be a pilot.'
Ms. Seddon, a physician astronaut, gave birth at 4:10 a.m. CDT. She had attempted to deliver by the Lamaze natural childbirth method, but doctors decided that after 14 hours of labor, the child should be delivered by surgery. Sources said Gibson stayed with his wife throughout labor and delivery.
Gibson, 35, of Lakewood, Calif., and Ms. Seddon, 34, of Murfreesboro, Tenn., met after both were selected to become astronauts in 1978. They were married in May 1981. It was the first marriage for her. Gibson has a daughter, Julie, 6, by a previous marriage.
Ms. Seddon is a graduate of the University of California at Berkeley and the University of Tennessee College of Medicine at Memphis. She is also a pilot.
Gibson, a licensed pilot since age 17, is a Navy lieutenant commander and former fighter pilot. He graduated from California Polytechnic State University with a degree in aeronautical engineering.
Neither Gibson, eligible to be assigned as a space shuttle pilot, nor Ms. Seddon, trained as a space shuttle mission specialist, has yet been assigned a space flight.
