A BABY has been born at 26 weeks inside a completely intact amniotic sac, a sight so rare it caused the medical staff who delivered him to ‘catch their breath’.
Doctors say being born with sac intact is “extremely rare†— a one in 80,000 occurrence.
California’s Cedars-Sinai Hospital, where Silas Philips was born, has released amazing photographs of him curled up inside the sac, tiny hands and feet visible through the clear film as doctors performed a caesarean section on his mother Chelsea.
Dr William Binder, who delivered Silas, described the moment he saw him.
“Even though it sounds clichéd, we caught our breath, he told CBS.
“It really felt like a moment of awe … and one that will stick in my memory for some time. He was seconds old and still in the water bag, with the placenta and umbilical cord tucked inside.â€
Silas’s mother said: “It was definitely like a clear film where you could definitely make out his head and his hair.
“He was kind of in a foetal position and you could see like his arms and his legs curled up.
It was actually really cool to see.
Despite his early arrival, Silas is doing well and expected to go home next month.
Being born inside the amniotic sac is known as being born “en caul†or as a “veiled birth†and mostly occur in premature babies.
In the Middle Ages, babies born with the caul were good luck and destined for greatness.
Originally published as ‘It felt like a moment of awe’
