Doctors in awe as baby is delivered still in its amniotic sac

A quick-thinking doctor was able to snap a photo of a baby born inside the amniotic sac, a rarity that occurs in just one out of every 80,000 births.

The baby, born premature at 26 weeks, was delivered "en caul" via C-section at Cedars-Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles. "It was a moment that really did, even though it's a cliché, we caught our breath," neonatologist William Binder told CBS Los Angeles. "This was really a moment that will stick in my memory for some time." The baby still received oxygen through the placenta, and after Binder took the photo he joined the rest of the team in getting him out of the amniotic sac.

The baby's mother, Chelsea Phillips, didn't know how her son was born until several hours later, when she was shown the photograph. "It was definitely like a clear film where you could definitely make out his head and his hair," she said. "He was kind of in a fetal position and you could see his arms and his legs curled up. It was actually really cool to see." Silas, now 10 weeks old, is expected to leave the hospital in about a month.

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