When we think about the miracle of life, we are typically envisioning the amazing time span from the moment of conception when a new human is created, to the moment they take their first breath after birth. News outlets have recently reported a different kind of life miracle, however, as a young baby is being lauded for her role in keeping her mother alive while in the womb. Here’s what you need to know about this unbelievable and heartwarming story:  

According to a report from the Today Show, first-time mother Amanda Banic might not be alive today if it wasn’t for her new daughter, Baylor. 

Amanda was 35 weeks (around eight months) into a normal, healthy pregnancy when she first experienced a jolt of excruciating chest pain. Her husband, Derek, rushed her to the hospital as the couple feared she may have had a heart attack, despite no history of such complications before. Doctors, however, labelled her pain the mere result of indigestion and anxiety, and Banic was sent home.  

She continued to be uncomfortable for about a week before the “absolutely unbearable” pain came back again — yet she was hesitant to go back into the hospital. Amanda relayed feeling “foolish” and wondering whether she would just be turned away again as she was uncertain whether pregnancy was supposed to feel this way. Derek persuaded her, however, and the couple would be very glad they made the decision to ask for medical help again.  

Reports detailed that a relative of the Banic family was working in the hospital that day and urged the technician to complete a second, deeper scan — which revealed Amanda’s aorta was dissected. She would have to take a medical flight to another hospital for surgery and deliver her baby early.  

Both procedures went off without a hitch, and while both mother and child were in critical state for a while, they later found out how Baylor had influenced her mother’s outcome.  

(Want to learn about another miracle baby? Click HERE to read another SFLA blog entitled “After Pushing Children Out of Harm’s Way & Hit by Car While Pregnant, Mom Honored at Indy 500 with Miracle Baby.”) 

In a recent interview on Good Morning America, Amanda shared: “Because of the way I dissected, [baby Baylor] kind of was in there, essentially holding everything together. Had she not been in there putting the pressure on all the right places, my outcome may have been very different, so she’s kind of a little miracle, in more ways than one.” 

Additionally, after Baylor was born, her mother believes that the skin-to-skin contact with her child is what helped keep her alive during the time in which she was unconscious and on life support. She stated:  

“The only times I would really react or show signs of life is when they would do skin to skin. They would put Baylor on my chest, and I would cry or shed tears, and sometimes she would be crying and they would put her on me and she would stop crying and go right to sleep.” 

Today, the Banic family is thankful for their amazing story of mutual support — mother supporting preborn child while preborn child supported mother — and remembering that life is always a gift. As Amanda put it, “I’ve dreamed about these days, but they are just beyond precious…I don’t take a single day for granted.”  

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