Silas Phillips, born inside intact amniotic sac (Photo : Cedars-Sinai Medical Center )
A baby delivered by cesarean section was born "en caul" or completely enclosed in its amniotic sac. He was born 26 weeks premature.
Doctors described the birth of this "miracle baby" as a very rare occurrence. Only about one in 80,000 babies are born with some or all of their amniotic membrane wrapped around their body. It's very rate the entire sac is intact at birth, a phenomenon doctors refer to as an "en caul" birth.
The premature baby, Silas Phillips, was delivered at the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in California, according to Tech Times.
What makes Silas' birth more extraordinary is that surgeons normally cut the sac during cesarean section. Since the baby's mother, Chelsea, had an abdominal birth; Sils was born still encased in the amniotic sac.
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center said on a Facebook post that Silas is healthy and almost ready to go home. Silas spent his first week at the hospital's Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.
Silas needed his doctors' help to breathe because he was premature. He was given special care because he was born three months before he was due for delivery.
Dr. William Binder, who delivered Silas, was in awe when he realized the baby was completely enclosed. Dr. Binder used his fingers to puncture the amniotic sac but not before taking a photo of the intact sac with his smartphone.
"He was kind of in a fetal position and you could see, like, his arms and his legs curled up. It was actually really cool to see," the boy's mother said.
