The baby was visibly in a hurry: he was born 11 weeks before term, in a few minutes, in the car, and without taking the time to get out of the amniotic sac.
The event is rare. It only affects one in 80,000 births. Raelin Scurry, a 29-year-old woman from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (USA), has given birth to a baby. So far, nothing out of the ordinary. If only at birth, he was still well wrapped in his amniotic sac.
In principle, before giving birth, pregnant women “break their waters”. This loss of amniotic fluid actually corresponds to the rupture of this sac. But Raelin Scurry’s experience is a bit different.
A baby in a hurry
On August 5, at only 29 weeks of pregnancy, 11 weeks before the term, she had contractions. She first thought of Braxton Hicks contractions, which occur from the sixth week, and can be felt during the second and third trimesters of pregnancy.
But, noting that they did not pass, the couple decided to go to the hospital after 45 minutes. “The contractions kept getting closer and stronger, and before I even knew it, I knew it was time to start pushing,” the mother explains on her Instagram account.
Express delivery
So in the car, panic took the young couple, and the rest is worthy of a comic film. “I called the emergency services because I was really scared,” she continues. On the phone, they didn’t understand me, because of the cries interrupted by the contractions. So I passed the phone to my fiancé. »
The birth then only lasted a few seconds. “I pulled my pants down and I could feel his head with my hands. I pushed once, and my miracle baby was there! It was when I laid eyes on him that I realized he was still completely wrapped up in his amniotic sac. »
The ending could have been different
What followed was a race against time. The baby, still locked up, could not yet breathe. “At first, the baby was not moving,” adds Raelin Scurry. I stroked his face with my thumb, and he responded by pulling his feet up and putting his small hands in front of his eyes. »
Deciding they would get to the hospital by car faster than waiting for an ambulance, they continued on their way. When they arrived, seven minutes later, the couple and the baby were awaited by the doctors, who opened the amniotic sac and released the newborn in the parking lot, before taking him in charge. Despite his prematurity, his low weight of 1.8 kg and his early adventures, he is doing well.
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