https://youtu.be/dKhyMGtYwRU
Fede.com: These powerful images are a celebration of one of the rarest types of births in the world. Fewer than 1 in every 80,000 babies is born with a caul. And what the bleep is a caul, you might be wondering?
Caul (also known as “the veil”) in Latin translates as “head helmet.” A caul birth occurs when a thin membrane—a remnant of the amniotic sac—loops around the ears and adheres to the head and face of a newborn. In rarer cases, the caul drapes over the head and part of the torso. An en-caul birth, amazingly, is when a baby is born totally encased in the entire amniotic sac, which means that the familiar water break during labor doesn’t happen. If it doesn’t rupture in the birthing process, the sac balloons out at birth, fully intact. The new addition arrives, still bobbing around ever so peacefully in the pale fluid, seemingly unaware of its birth—until the doctor or midwife carefully cuts the newborn into existence, that is. These images might not appeal to everyone. Although the business of bringing forth life—however it comes about—might not be a pretty affair, we happen to think it’s the most beautiful thing. These babies, known as caulbearers, are special by default, and any capturing of this uber momentous event is archival gold. The midwives at this home water birth immediately peel off the membrane when the baby arrives, like skin from the sweetest of fruits. It’s almost like being born twice. It is widely understood, across cultures, that babies born with the caul have the gift of clairvoyance, supernatural powers, or have a special calling. In other cultures, parents preserve the caul in a special jar, or bury or burn it. En-caul births are usually associated with premature deliveries. A C-section produced this luscious bundle. In medieval Europe, mothers sold their children’s membranes for a pretty penny to sailors, who prized the caul as a good luck charm that could save them from drowning and other disasters at sea. For most of us, once the veil is lifted, we’ve reached a point of no return. This newborn’s precious face is still shrink-wrapped to perfection upon delivery.
Sigmund Freud and Napoleon Bonaparte were said to be born en-caul, totally inside a caul. So was Jessica Alba’s second daughter. Who will this caulbearer be to the world?