Raelin Scurry, a mother from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, gave birth to her second child in a car on the way to the hospital — with the baby still inside its amniotic sac, a membrane that contains and protects the baby, placenta, and amniotic fluids during pregnancy. Scurry posted a remarkable Instagram photo of her newborn, who was born in the car on August 5 weighing 3 pounds and 1 ounce at 29 weeks and 4 days gestation.
When the baby didn't move at first, Scurry, who works in medical research and knew the baby would be safe in the sac, poked at his face and was relieved when he raised his hands and feet toward his head. She kept the baby in his sac for about seven minutes as the boy's father, Ean Vanstory, drove them to the hospital.
Dr. Euser says intact amniotic sacs are typically broken right away after delivery since babies can't breathe once the placenta (which provides oxygen to the baby during pregnancy) is separated from the mother's uterus, as is the case in en caul deliveries.
Although Dr. Euser worries whether the infant was breathing during its brief drive to the hospital, and Scurry didn't respond to requests for comment, the newborn, called Ean Jamal Vanstory Jr. or «E.J.», is reportedly doing well. And he's cute as a button!