1. A baby can be born still fully inside the amniotic sac.
The above photo — which was taken by award-winning photographer Robin Baker — captures something that happens only once every 80,000 births. It’s called being born «en caul,» but it doesn’t harm the baby in any way. The mother of twins above, for example, simply broke the sac with her nail.
You can learn more about this amazing birth here.
2. You can get pregnant without actually having sex.
Is it common? No, not at all. But it CAN happen. Here’s one eye-opening scenario: If a couple is dry-humping and the man ejaculates, the woman could end up pregnant even if she is wearing clothes because semen can pass through fabric. Again, this is highly unlikely — but possible.
Learn more about all of the ways you could get pregnant without actually having sex here.
3. It’s possible to be pregnant for 60 years — well, sort of.
When 91-year-old Estela Meléndez, of La Boca, Chile, took a fall, doctors decided to give her an X-ray. To their surprise, they discovered a calcified fetus that had been in her uterus for over six decades.
Learn more about Estela Meléndez and her story here.
4. Women in Ancient Egypt would use crocodile dung as a birth control method.
Women inserted the dung up near the cervix before sex to block pesky sperm from going on their way. And no, it doesn’t sound very healthy, but there it is.
Learn more about this and 12 other old-school birth control methods here.
5. It’s possible to deliver a baby even after being declared brain-dead.
Karla Perez was 22 weeks pregnant when she suffered a catastrophic intracranial hemorrhage and was pronounced brain-dead. Doctors were able to save her baby, though, and delivered him 54 days later at 30 weeks’ gestation.
Learn more about this incredible baby here.
6. There’s actually a scientific reason you sometimes want to eat your baby.
If you’ve ever been admiring your baby and got the urge to nibble on their cute little face, you’re not weird. Psychological scientists at Yale found these «dimorphous expressions» have a sociological purpose — to help us control our emotions.
Learn more about «cute aggression» here.
7. You can still get pregnant even if you have an IUD.
This, of course, is incredibly rare, but the failure rate of a hormonal IUD isn’t zero — it’s about 0.2%. How often does it happen? Well, a 2011 literature review from the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) found 36 reported cases.
You can learn a lot more about IUDs and pregnancy here.
8. It’s possible to deliver a nearly 14-pound baby without an epidural.
He ain't heavy, he's my bubba! Biggest baby born ever at the Mercy Hospital for Women today. Weighing in at over 6 kg, baby Brian Junior Liddle surprised even his mum Natashia Corrigan when, after a seven hour labour, he popped out. Picture: David Caird. #Heraldsun #melbourne #mercyhospital @mercy #newborn #baby #whopper
This actually happened to this Australian mom, Natashia Corrigan, whose son, Brian Jr., weighed in at 13.5 pounds!
You can learn more about this incredible birth here.
9. A British university may soon create «three-person babies.»
This sounds alarming (and may be to some), but it’s actually an example of the wonders of science. Women with mitochondrial disease are at a great risk of passing down debilitating diseases to their offspring, but scientists have found a way to take the nucleus and DNA out of their unhealthy egg and put it into a donor’s healthy egg — thus the term «three-person baby.»
Learn more about this incredible science here.
10. Many men now have baby showers and call them «dadchelor parties.»
They’re similar to traditional baby showers, but feature male-centric things like football-themed diaper cakes and beer. Dads say these events make them feel more connected to the pregnancy and better prepared for fatherhood.
Learn more about dadchelor parties here.
11. A first-time mother’s breast milk can sometimes be orange or pink.
It’s called «rusty pipe syndrome,» and happens because increased blood flow to the breast means blood ends up in the breast milk. It’s totally safe for a baby to drink, though, and usually clears up in a week.
Check out 20 more weird parenting facts here.