A Colorado mom who spent days waiting for an induction that kept getting postponed ended up experiencing one of the rarest types of childbirths.
Madisyn Parente, 26, had been counting down to the scheduled birth of her daughter when she received a series of calls from the hospital telling her there was no room to admit her.
“I was definitely frustrated, but more than anything, I was ready,” Parente told Newsweek. “Having an induction date gave me a sense of peace because I knew when I would finally meet my baby and I could make arrangements for my son.”
Parente, who shares her son Westyn with 27-year-old husband Cameron Mahoney, said each delay left her getting her hopes up.
But after her induction was delayed for a third time, she decided she was done waiting.
“After it was pushed back for the third time, I decided she was coming out that day,” Parente said. “I like to think I manifested it. I told my body, ‘We’re having the baby today’ and I guess the baby agreed.”
When she arrived at the hospital, nurses initially expected to send her home. Although monitors were showing contractions, she could barely feel them.
A check revealed she was already 4 centimeters dilated, and after a membrane sweep, labor intensified rapidly.
Soon, Parente found herself in a private “spa room” because no delivery rooms were available.
While soaking in a bathtub during increasingly intense contractions, she suddenly realized her baby was close.
Hospital staff rushed her into a delivery room, where she delivered her daughter after a single prolonged push.
What happened next stunned everyone.
Her daughter, Carter Jeanette, had been born “en caul,” meaning she emerged still enclosed within the unbroken amniotic sac that had surrounded her throughout pregnancy.
Sometimes referred to as a “mermaid birth” or a “veiled birth,” an en caul delivery is considered extremely rare and is estimated to occur in roughly one in every 80,000 births, according to a 2022 study published in the journal Cureus.
“I didn’t even realize she had been born en caul until several minutes after she was already born,” Parente said. “I was so focused on getting through labor that I didn’t fully understand what had happened in the moment.”
While her doctor told her it was uncommon, it wasn’t until she got home and searched online that she learned just how unusual the birth had been.
“She came into the world still wrapped in her own little ‘bubble’ and it’s such a unique story that I know I’ll be telling her forever,” Parente said.
The mom of two shared her birth story in a clip on TikTok (@madisynparente), which has captivated family, friends and strangers alike.
“Everyone has been fascinated by the story,” Parente said. “My family and friends were shocked when they heard that she was born en caul, and people online have been just as amazed.”
As for her daughter, Parente hopes the rare birth becomes something she treasures.
“I hope when she hears the story someday, she laughs at how dramatic her entrance was and feels proud that she has such a unique birth story,” she said. “More than anything, I hope she knows how loved she was from the very beginning.”
Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Charlotte Nisbet and Emma Lee-Sang