Before we had modern medicine, birth was a lot scarier than it is (and it’s already pretty scary). While for some, everything goes smoothly without much intervention, for other moms, survival is dependent on the technology we had today. When I gave birth to my daughter, a c-section saved both of our lives, and I was so thankful (and also pretty thankful for the invention of pain medication, too). But in the wild, the help of a veterinarian isn’t always an option, and many baby animals grow up without their moms because of it.
It’s for that reason that I truly feel a kinship for one gorilla who recently became a mama. She, too, needed a c-section — and amazingly enough, an obstetrician was able to make it happen, keeping her and her baby safe and healthy in the process.
This week, CBS News Texas reported on the birth of a new baby gorilla at the Fort Worth Zoo that turned out to be a truly amazing story. When zoo staff realized that the mama gorilla, a 33-year-old named Sekani, was experiencing pregnancy complications, they knew this wouldn’t be a normal birth.
Fortunately, they were able to help her and bring her baby, whose name is Jameela, into the world safely. A local OB/GYN — for humans, not animals — was able to perform the emergency c-section on Sekani, and all was well!
But how did this all happen?
More about Jameela’s birth
As the Dallas Morning News reported, zookeepers realized that Sekani was acting strangely, which led them to discover she was experiencing preeclampsia, a very dangerous condition involving high blood pressure that can happen in both humans and primates.
They had to act fast, and Dr. Jamie Walker Erwin was able to deliver baby Jameela via c-section on January 5, something she called “the highlight of my career.
Neonatologist Dr. Robert Ursprung also helped with the birth, and told the outlet, “It was incredible how similar this mother-infant pair was compared to what I see in the hospital for babies born under similar circumstances. The baby needed critical respiratory support for a few hours post-delivery, but as she transitioned to life outside the womb, she stabilized quite nicely. She had so many features typical of a slightly premature human baby.”
Mom and baby are both doing well, and Jameela is already out of critical care. She’s currently being placed with a surrogate mom, Gracie, to show her the ropes of gorilla life, since Sekani isn’t showing much interest in her (which staff believe is because she didn’t get the hormonal cues she needed to do that with an unconventional pregnancy and birth).
Here’s hoping they both continue to thrive!
