In a remarkable display of determination, a mother took drastic measures to save both herself and her unborn child by performing a DIY caesarean section with a kitchen knife. Ines Ramirez Perez, a mother of eight, faced the challenge on March 5, 2000, during her seventh month of pregnancy, when she went into labor at a remote mountain cabin in southern Mexico. With her husband away and no means of reaching help, Ines resorted to using a knife bought by her son to deliver her baby.
Despite the excruciating pain and fear, Ines successfully delivered her baby boy, Orlando, after cutting her own womb and then cutting the umbilical cord with scissors. Following the operation under dim light, Ines managed to stay conscious until village health assistants arrived to provide medical aid. Her incision was stitched up with a needle and thread before she and her newborn were transported to a clinic for further treatment.
Both Ines and baby Orlando survived the ordeal, described as a miraculous feat by Dr. Onorio Galvan, who commended Ines for her incredible self-operation without harming vital organs. The doctor attributed her survival partly to her positioning during the procedure, noting that Ines had drawn inspiration from observing how goats were operated on. The extraordinary story of Ines’s self-performed caesarean section has gained worldwide attention as a tale of courage and maternal instinct.