This HuffPost Canada page is maintained as part of an online archive.

Incredible 12-Year-Old Girl Delivers Her Baby Brother

She got to cut his umbilical cord, too.

At the age of 12, most kids are busy playing with fidget spinners or thinking about what they’re going to do this weekend. But not Jacee Dellapena.

The 12-year-old Mississippi girl has been dreaming about delivering one of her siblings ever since she can remember, and on Tuesday, she finally got her chance! Dellapena not only got to be present for her baby brother’s birth, but got to deliver him with the help of a doctor and cut his umbilical cord.

“I actually delivered him, [the doctor] let me actually push down and pull the baby out,” she said, according to Mirror U.K. “I was like, ‘Wow, like I've played fake doctor before,’ but this is, like, the real thing, this is the real deal.”

“It was the best moment of my life,” she added.

According to the Independent, the seventh-grader wanted to be present at the birth of her first brother, Zaydn, a few years ago, but her parents thought she was too young. They only allowed her to be in the hospital room this time around because they knew their third child, Cayson, would be their last.

At first, Dellapena was upset because she was standing by her mother’s head in the hospital room and couldn’t see what was going on.

“I started crying because I thought I wasn't going to get to see him be born, because I was too short,” she told WDBD's MS News Now.

That’s when her mom’s doctor suggested Dellapena get dressed in scrubs and latex gloves to deliver the baby.

To say her mom, Dede Carraway, was shocked is an understatement. “I couldn’t believe it,” the 34-year-old told Today.com. “I was like, what? Uh, no. Never in a million years. But the doctor said, ‘I’m being serious. I’ll guide her hands and everything.’ So she got up in there and was suddenly in the middle of everything.”

Although Dellapena’s stepfather, Zach Carraway — who is also the newborn’s father — was looking forward to cutting the umbilical cord, he allowed his stepdaughter to take the reins.

“He gave up a lot of his special bonding time with the baby and gave it to Jacee,” mom Carraway told Today.com.

Following his birth, family friend Nikki Smith shared photos of the incredible event, taken by Zach, on Facebook. The images have now been shared nearly 200,000 times.

Many viewers expressed their awe and amazement in the comment section. One wrote, “She is truly blessed to have been given this opportunity, good job mom and dad.”

Another said, “Incredibly brave. And she will always feel so connected to her sibling. On a side note, she will probably wait until marriage to have sex…”

In the comments, the new dad also shared an image of their other son, Zaydn, meeting Cayson for the first time.

Now that her baby brother is here, Dellapena can’t wait to share his birth story with him. Recalling the amazing delivery, the 12-year-old told Today.com: “I couldn’t believe it. It was like, oh my goodness, I just delivered a baby, and it’s my baby brother, and I’m going to tell him when he gets older that I delivered him. I can’t wait.”

Although Dellapena wants to be a veterinarian when she grows up, it looks like she has a bright future as an OBGYN instead.

Also on HuffPost

Kids Meeting Siblings For The First Time

Close
This HuffPost Canada page is maintained as part of an online archive. If you have questions or concerns, please check our FAQ or contact support@huffpost.com.