When the Pennsylvania mom woke up with contractions at 29 weeks, she knew that she had to go to the hospital, but she thought that she was just experiencing false contractions. She and her fiancé Ean dropped her older daughter off at a friend’s house and started to make the quick 15-minute drive to the hospital when her contractions changed. They left at 11:14 a.m. and had no idea that by 11:28 a.m., their baby would be born. “We passed an ambulance and Ean suggested we stop it. But I figured we still had some time because my water never broke,” Raelin told CafeMom. “I called 911 because I was scared, and a few seconds later I felt him in the birth canal.” Raelin Scurry Raelin calmly pulled her pants off, put her feet on the dashboard, and reached down. She could feel her baby’s head and only pushed once before Ean Jamal Vanstory Jr. was born. The dispatcher told Ean Sr. to pull over and wait for help, but, knowing they were only minutes away, Raelin insisted that he keep driving. “There was traffic so he drove down the bus lane to get us there faster,” Raelin said. “The whole time I was just praying that our baby would be okay.” More from CafeMom:15 Raw Birth Photos That Show How Amazing the Vagina Really Is Baby Ean wasn’t just born in a car prematurely — he was also born en caul, which is incredibly rare. This type of birth occurs when a baby is born with his or her amniotic sac fully intact. This only happens in one out of 80,000 births, as most amniotic bubbles rupture during both vaginal and C-section deliveries. “I was shocked and relieved that the sac didn’t break,” Raelin said. “I knew his lungs wouldn’t be mature enough for him to breathe on his own.” Dad Ean rushed into the hospital for help while Raelin sat in the car, barely moving in hopes of preventing the sac from breaking. “I just held him as still as possible,” Raelin said. “I did rub his face with my finger through the sac and he moved his hands and feet up to his face. That’s when we knew he was okay.” Raelin Scurry When her fiancé returned, Raelin still hadn’t moved and he snapped an incredible photo of her clutching their 3 pound, 1 ounce newborn still in his amniotic sac during the moment before hospital staff came out. “I didn’t even know it was a thing!” she said. “The doctors grabbed him from me and broke the sac right outside in front of the hospital. Neither of us had ever seen anything like it before.” Ean Jr. is thriving in the NICU, where he is expected to stay until closer to his October 18 due date. “They doctors are amazed with his progress and how well he’s doing considering how early he was,” Raelin added. “The NICU journey is rough at times not having him home with us, but we just try to look at it from the positive perspective, as he’s not supposed to be yet anyways — so he just has to continue to grow big and strong there. We’ll have him home before we know it.” Raelin Scurry
title: “Baby Born En Caul In The Car On The Way To The Hospital” ShowToc: true date: “2024-09-07” author: “Susan Crowson”
When the Pennsylvania mom woke up with contractions at 29 weeks, she knew that she had to go to the hospital, but she thought that she was just experiencing false contractions. She and her fiancé Ean dropped her older daughter off at a friend’s house and started to make the quick 15-minute drive to the hospital when her contractions changed. They left at 11:14 a.m. and had no idea that by 11:28 a.m., their baby would be born. “We passed an ambulance and Ean suggested we stop it. But I figured we still had some time because my water never broke,” Raelin told CafeMom. “I called 911 because I was scared, and a few seconds later I felt him in the birth canal.” Raelin Scurry Raelin calmly pulled her pants off, put her feet on the dashboard, and reached down. She could feel her baby’s head and only pushed once before Ean Jamal Vanstory Jr. was born. The dispatcher told Ean Sr. to pull over and wait for help, but, knowing they were only minutes away, Raelin insisted that he keep driving. “There was traffic so he drove down the bus lane to get us there faster,” Raelin said. “The whole time I was just praying that our baby would be okay.” More from CafeMom:15 Raw Birth Photos That Show How Amazing the Vagina Really Is Baby Ean wasn’t just born in a car prematurely — he was also born en caul, which is incredibly rare. This type of birth occurs when a baby is born with his or her amniotic sac fully intact. This only happens in one out of 80,000 births, as most amniotic bubbles rupture during both vaginal and C-section deliveries. “I was shocked and relieved that the sac didn’t break,” Raelin said. “I knew his lungs wouldn’t be mature enough for him to breathe on his own.” Dad Ean rushed into the hospital for help while Raelin sat in the car, barely moving in hopes of preventing the sac from breaking. “I just held him as still as possible,” Raelin said. “I did rub his face with my finger through the sac and he moved his hands and feet up to his face. That’s when we knew he was okay.” Raelin Scurry When her fiancé returned, Raelin still hadn’t moved and he snapped an incredible photo of her clutching their 3 pound, 1 ounce newborn still in his amniotic sac during the moment before hospital staff came out. “I didn’t even know it was a thing!” she said. “The doctors grabbed him from me and broke the sac right outside in front of the hospital. Neither of us had ever seen anything like it before.” Ean Jr. is thriving in the NICU, where he is expected to stay until closer to his October 18 due date. “They doctors are amazed with his progress and how well he’s doing considering how early he was,” Raelin added. “The NICU journey is rough at times not having him home with us, but we just try to look at it from the positive perspective, as he’s not supposed to be yet anyways — so he just has to continue to grow big and strong there. We’ll have him home before we know it.” Raelin Scurry
