Baby Born with Organs Outside of Body Is 'Thriving' After Being Wrapped in 'Cling Film,' Mom Says

A baby born with her organs outside of her body is "thriving" after a shockingly simple procedure, her mother says.

Sadie Montgomery, 21, of Wilshire, United Kingdom, said that her daughter Dorothy was diagnosed with an extreme form of gastroschisis, which is “a birth defect where a hole in the abdominal (belly) wall beside the belly button allows the baby’s intestines to extend outside of the baby’s body. The hole can be small or large and sometimes other organs, such as the stomach and liver, can be found outside of the baby’s body as well,” the CDC says.

But in Dorothy’s case, she was born with her fallopian tubes, kidneys, stomach, liver, ovaries, and intestines, on the outside of her stomach.

Her condition was discovered at her 12-week scan, Montgomery told South West News Service. 

"It was right at the last bit, the nurse noticed a 'mass' on the umbilical cord, or where it should've been,” she told the outlet. "I was only 21, and I asked her what the hell she meant by that. She gently told me that sometimes babies' tummies don’t form properly. I just burst into tears."

"All I remember hearing was the consultant telling me Dorothy’s 'guts' were out of her body.”

Montgomery says that doctors originally thought Dorothy could either have gastroschisis or another disorder, exomphalos, which can require several surgeries, according to the Cleveland Clinic.

But Dorothy was diagnosed with gastroschisis. When she was born on February 12, Montgomery says, “It wasn’t just her bowel, or her umbilical cord, like I was expecting. It was everything. All her kidneys, stomach, liver, fallopian tubes, intestines, and ovaries were out.”

Treating the 4-lb. newborn, she said, was surprisingly simple‚ and required no surgery.

“Doctors had to wrap her up in cling film to keep her insides moist,” Montgomery told SWNS.

"I was really lucky because they put her in a towel, and I got to see her for a little while.”

The newborn was transferred to Southampton Hospital, where doctors used a silicone bag to compress her organs back into her body, sealing her umbilical cord with Steri Strips — the kind of adhesive wound closures you can often get at drugstores. 

Within two weeks, Dorothy's symptoms had drastically improved.

“It was absolutely crazy, her tummy literally just closed,” Montgomery told SWNS, adding that the baby is “thriving.”

“She’s doing really well,” Montgomery said. “Which is crazy given how far she’s come.”

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