Mom Shares Chilling Photo of Premature Baby Born in His Amniotic Sac

With babies, you have to be prepared for anything. One Pittsburgh mom learned this lesson in a scary, unique way.

Raelin Scurry gave birth to her second child while in her car on the way to the hospital. At 29 weeks and 4 days gestation, the baby came out in one single push, but was still nestled inside its amniotic sac. The sac is a membrane that holds and protects the baby, placenta and amniotic fluids inside the mother's womb.

Scurry posted the baby's birth story and photo to Instagram, sharing that she gave birth to her son on August 5, when he weighed only 3 pounds 1 ounce.

Our birth story! ❤ The human body is truly an amazing thing. 8.5.2017 at about 10am I started having contractions. I was only 29 weeks and 4 days so I just figured they were Braxton hicks and decided to wait it out. After about 45 minutes of consistent contractions that were increasing in intensity I decided I should probably go in. I there in some clothes. Grabbed my daughter some clothes, her my fiance And I left for the hospital. I dropped my daughter to her God mommy Nicole And headed to the hospital. Well the contractions continued to get closer together and more intense and before I knew it I knew it was time to push. I called 911 because I was so scared. They couldn't understand me between the screams with contractions. So I handed the phone to my fiance. I pulled my pants off and reached down, sure enough his head was right there. I pushed one time and my miracle baby was here. When I looked down I realized he was still completely wrapped in the amniotic sac. The dispatcher told us to pull over. But I knew we would make it to the hospital before they would make it to us. So I told Ean to keep driving. I was so scared. My Fiance was so calm driving and on the phone with 911. At first the baby was still and all I could do was pray he would be okay. And then I rubbed his face with my thumb and he pulled his little hands and feet up to his face as if he understood my prayers and wanted to reassure us he was okay. About 7 minutes passed that I held this miracle baby in my hands until we made it to the hospital. A familiar face came running out and grabbed my baby. He was born an caul. This happens 1 in every 80,000 births. Usually during c-section. He was 3lb 1oz. He doing wonderful all things considered all He went through I know he's going to be an awesome little man! ❤ he is truly a miracle​ baby. We are so blessed to be his parents. #encaul #encaulbirth #carbirth #miriclebaby

A post shared by Raelin Scurry (@raeee_nacoal23) on Aug 24, 2017 at 1:21pm PDT

The mom of two says she began having contractions that morning, but because she was 11 weeks away from her due date, she was encouraged to wait at home. As the contractions remained consistent for about 45 minutes, Scurry grabbed some essentials and headed to the hospital. On the way, she realized it was time to push for delivery and called 911.

Just after they called an emergency operator, Scurry pushed and held the baby—fully inside his amniotic sac—in her arms.

When the baby came out, he wasn't moving. But Scurry, who works in medicine research and knew the sac is a safe place for the baby, rubbed his face and he curled further into the fetal position. As her fiancé and the baby's father Ean Vanstory drove them to the hospital, the new mom held her boy inside his sac for about seven minutes.

In her Instagram post, Scurry wrote that this rare circumstance—called an "en caul" birth—occurs in about 1 in 80,000 births. Dr. Anna Euser, MD, a maternal-fetal medicine specialist at UCHealth echoes this to Cosmopolitan, noting that she's only seen five en caul births during her eight years of practice.

Euser says that, in most cases, the sac is ruptured with pushing from the pressure of contractions or it's broken by a doctor to encourage labor. Normally, en caul births happen with c-sections, and the sac is broken immediately to allow the baby to breathe. Once the placenta (which serves as a baby's source of oxygen during pregnancy) is separated from the uterus, the flow of air stops, Euser says. In this case, she worries whether Scurry's infant was able to breathe during those seven minutes it took to reach the hospital.

EJ is making such great progress! He is 4lbs 3.8oz. He is starting to get some of his feeds by mouth and I got to put him to breast.

A post shared by Raelin Scurry (@raeee_nacoal23) on Aug 29, 2017 at 10:42am PDT

Since Scurry's August 5 birth to son Ean Jamal Vanity Jr.—"E.J." for short—she's shared multiple updates on her miracle baby. On August 30, she shared that he is making solid progress, weighing 4 pounds 3.8 ounces and beginning to feed by mouth.