SONJA Cook helped her daughter deliver her baby in the back of a Vauxhall Zafira last weekend - but she admits she’s not planning to take up the midwifery profession full-time.

Her daughter, 26-year-old Shelby Burnett was a week overdue with her fourth child and went to Barnsley Hospital at 41 weeks’ pregnant last Tuesday.

She left at around 7.30pm but went into labour in the early hours of Wednesday morning - and phoned her mum asking for help.

Sonja told the Chronicle: “She woke up in the early hours of the morning with contractions.

“I told her to get the kids to my house so we could look after them.

“At 4.34am she arrived at my house in Grimethorpe to drop off the kids.

“She got out of the car and shouted saying that she needed to get onto the back seat and said ‘the baby is coming’.

“I rang 999 and asked for help but the baby was born in my arms at 4.53am - it only took around ten minutes.”

But there were some complications at first.

“The baby was quite blue - it was really scary,” she added.

“I could feel the heartbeat but he wasn’t crying.

“He was still in the sac but because it was dark we didn’t know that.

“I pulled it off and I was so glad that he started to cry.”

A caul birth occurs when a baby is born with the amniotic sac, or caul, either partially or fully intact around them.

This is a rare event, with some estimates suggesting it occurs in less than one in 80,000 births.

This sac, which normally ruptures during labour (your water breaking), remains unbroken, and the baby is born inside it.

En caul births are more common in premature births and cesarean sections.

While not inherently dangerous, they can present unique situations for both the baby and the birthing parent.

Thankfully both Shelby and her new baby, Mason James Butler, are well.

Sonja added: “It was quite traumatic.

“My grandson’s life was literally in my hands.

“It was a really quick birth.

“When he started crying, so did I.”

Asked if it’s something she’s going to do full-time, she joked: “I’ve done it once now so I know what I’m doing now.”

Shelby said the last week has gone extremely quickly.

She added: “It was awful to go through.

“It was scary to not hear him cry.

“I’ve got two boys and two girls now but this was the craziest birth.

“But he’s doing really well now.

“He’s been brilliant.”

Mason was born weighing eight pounds and five ounces, and now joins his two sisters - Sophie and Lexi - and brother Noah.