Two years after historic C-section, Texas OB-GYN reunites with the baby gorilla she brought into the world

Two years ago, a baby gorilla named Jameela was born at the Fort Worth Zoo via emergency cesarean section. The historic surgery was performed by a team of local doctors who typically operate on humans. 

It was an extraordinary collaboration between the zoo's veterinarians and human medical experts. Among them was Dr. Jamie Walker Erwin, a local OB-GYN who performed the C-section that brought Jameela into the world. 

Jameela's birth mother, Sekani, struggled to bond with Jameela after the birth, something zookeepers believed may have been a result of her never experiencing the flood of hormones associated with a full-term pregnancy and natural birth. Jameela was transferred to the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo in Ohio where she was adopted by a surrogate gorilla mom, Fredrica. 

Recently, Erwin and other members of the team visited Jameela, finding the newborn they helped bring into the world has grown into a rambunctious 2-year-old. 

"I saw her and I thought, I'm the first person who got to meet you," Erwin said. "I'm the first person that got to touch you and hold you, and now here you are! You're just this little toddler running around and having a whole life." 

 "It was beautiful, I mean Jameela is growing and hitting all of her milestones," she said. "I think for all of us just getting to see her so happy and thriving and strong in her new family in Cleveland, it was a beautiful full circle."  

The once-in-a-lifetime experience of operating on a gorilla, Erwin said, has taught her a lot about motherhood and caregiving across species. 

"Women, females, are the most incredible creatures and I think that translates over to our gorilla species. I think it's absolutely beautiful to see what females, what we do and everyday I'm inspired by the patients I take care of, including gorillas," she said.  

The team that traveled to visit Jameela included the veterinarian and animal care team from the Fort Worth Zoo, as well as human medical specialists, neonatologists, nurse anesthetists and surgical assistants. Getting to see Jameela thriving reminded them of the beauty of collaboration. 

"Yes, we miss her in Fort Worth," Erwin said. "But the take home point is she is doing well and everybody that got to participate, whether in her historic delivery, or her care, or feeding afterwards, or now supporting her in her new family, everybody wins." 

The name Jameela means beautiful in Swahili, but it was also a nod to Erwin.

When announcing the gorilla's name in 2024, Linda Roberts, supervisor of primates at the Fort Worth Zoo said, "Jameela is kind of like Jamie. So, we're naming the baby Jameela for Jamie because of her assistance in her immediate response to our needs." 

"It's pretty cool I have a gorilla named after me! I just love it and she is very special in my life," Erwin said. 

Erwin said she hopes people remember from Jameela's story what compassion, collaboration and science can accomplish when humans come together for something bigger than themselves. 

"I hope they take away that science, medicine, crosses all boundaries and the greater zoo community is a beautiful thing," she said.