At just 12 years old, Jacee Dellapena got to do something remarkable – she helped deliver her baby brother.

No, she wasn’t the only person around in a desperate situation – in fact, her mother gave birth at the hospital. But the young girl’s interest in her mother’s pregnancy simply encouraged the obstetrician on the scene to allow her to help out in a major way.

During her mother Dede Carraway’s pregnancy, Dellapena was very observant and even more so when she was allowed to be in the delivery room in 2017 when her mom and stepfather Zach became parents again. (She had wanted to be in the delivery room for her brother Zayden’s birth 18 months prior, but Carraway didn’t think she was old enough for the experience.)

Not only was she allowed in the room, but the Brandon, Mississippi 7th-grader got a front-row seat!

“I started crying because I was too short to see anything. The doctor was like, ‘Just go ahead and get some gear on and come help me deliver the baby.’ I was like, are you kidding me? Are you being real?” Dellapena told TODAY.

Indeed he was being real!

And her mother decided that since she had learned about reproduction and childbirth in her health class, some hands-on learning was fine with her if that’s what her daughter truly wanted.

“She’s already had sex ed at school. I didn’t see no reason why she shouldn’t be there. I don’t hide anything from her. I think that the human body is natural and if she learned about it at school, there’s no reason why she shouldn’t learn about it at home, too…Seeing the emotions on her face, it was worth it.”

The photos are truly touching.

Still, Carraway was taken aback at just how willing the obstetrician was to involve the pre-teen.

“I couldn’t believe it. 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.”

Dellapena not only caught her baby brother as he was born but got to cut his umbilical cord as well.

And while people disagree with the family and doctor’s choice to let a 12-year-old get so involved in the birth of her brother, she was thrilled to get the chance.

Of course, that doesn’t mean it wasn’t an anxiety-inducing moment:

“I was a nervous wreck. I was nervous and shocked at the same time. I was scared I was going to mess up or do something wrong because there are plenty of things you can do wrong” she admitted.

But everything went according to plan. In fact, her stepfather Zach even stepped back to photograph Dellapena as she helped and gave up some of his bonding time with the baby so his new sister could hold him in his first moments.

As for Dellapena, she can’t wait to tell her brother how it all went down someday.

“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.”

Commenters were split on the wisdom of giving a 12-year-old the responsibility of helping to deliver a baby. But in a Facebook post by family friend Nikki Smith, others were quick to admit that the family’s decision was “none of their business.”

Smith posted the emotional photos from the birth, saying:

“Birth is a natural process and there is absolutely nothing wrong with allowing her daughter to witness this beautiful moment. It’s not for everyone but Jacee was a rockstar and helped deliver a newborn! I don’t know about you but I wouldn’t have when I was 12!”

But it’s pretty clear that Dellapena is mature beyond her years.

One commenter was self-aware enough to admit that she questioned the family’s decision at first, but that in the end her reaction really said more about her than it did about the family.

“Not gonna lie. At first I was shocked and a bit odd about it. But I looked at the photos and that’s just my conditioning that made me feel that way. Only since the invention of hospitals has this become socially unacceptable. It’s not nature’s fault. It’s ours. Kudos to Mom and Jaycee. Pictures made me tear up.”

Be sure to scroll down below to see an interview from 2017 with the brand new family of 5.

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Source: TODAY, Nikki Smith via Facebook, CNN via Facebook