The stillborn baby who came back from the dead

Argentinian mother Analia Bouter just lived through every parent's worst nightmare — but lucky for her, it ended on an implausibly ecstatic note. Bouter's baby was delivered stillborn and pronounced dead on the spot. But miraculously, 12 hours later, the bereaved parents went to the morgue and found their baby girl very much alive. A guide to this bizarre tale:

What happened during the delivery?

Bouter went into premature labor six months into her pregnancy, and on April 3, she delivered a baby girl in a hospital in northern Argentina. Doctors immediately pronounced the child, whom they thought had died in the womb, stillborn. Doctors insisted that she showed no signs of life after delivery. Bouter and her husband, Fabian Veron, never got to see or touch the body before it was taken away.

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Then what happened?

After the baby was sent to a nearby morgue, the heartbroken parents insisted on seeing her. So about 12 hours after the birth, Bouter and Veron went to the refrigerated room in the morgue where their baby's body was kept. They opened the drawer, Bouter touched the infant's icy hand, and then "felt" the newborn look at her. Seeing that the baby was alive, Bouter fell to her knees. The little girl let out a cry.

And the baby was actually okay?

She was cold — a layer of ice had already formed over her body — but she was alive, breathing, and reportedly in good health. She didn't even need resuscitation. The parents aptly named her Luz Milagros, which means "miracles."

How could this possibly have happened?

It remains a mystery, and the Argentinian government has launched an investigation into the medical near-miss. "Every member of the team that was involved has some responsibility, so they will have to answer for this," said the region's undersecretary for health. Bouter, meanwhile, is just happy to have a healthy baby. "The joy of knowing she's alive is covering every other feeling," she said.

Sources: BBC, Metro, New York Daily News, Opposing Views, The Stir