I saw this on Pinterest actually and it blew my mind. I have seen other pictures of babies born in the caul, but this one takes the cake! Melissa with MJ Birth photography is the talented photographer to capture this shot.
Here is the intact membranes post birth…
Visit her site here to see more. Melissa’s main photography site is here and you can find her on Facebook here.
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40 Comments
Chelsea
WOW!!! so cool.
Nancy
That is amazing!!!
Sarah
So, this is going to sound weird…But for babies born in the caul, does the placenta stay attached and come right behind the baby after being born? Or do the membranes detach completely from the placenta? Just never thought about the internal workings of it before…
Nicole
The placenta always comes after the baby.I think normally within 10 minutes or less,well in my case at least.I have heard of some placentas staying in up to an hour.
tattoomummy
My placenta for my second took nearly an hour to deliver.
Andrea
Pretty sure she’s asking whether the whole “package” comes at once, actually. It does not. 🙂 It’s that the amniotic sac came away from the afterbirth as the baby was being born, rather than breaking near the head where it usually does.
Andrea
It means, usually, that the mother was well-nourished, so the sac was strong!
Wendy
That is SO cool!
sarah
so the baby is all clean once they remove the membrane! how gorgeous!
Lety
My baby born via VBA3C in November 2011 was Born In The Caul.
Morgaine
Is it just around their heads, or is it the whole body?
Its a bit sad how little I know about that…
Nicole
The amniotic sac covers the entire babies body.
Andrea
It mainly means that it was covering the head and shoulders. The whole thing isn’t intact. It comes away from the placenta during the birth process.
Yvette
This is a gorgeous photo. Thanks for sharing. 🙂
Crystal - Prenatal Coach
WOW! Amazing photos!
Suzi
My daughter was born in the caul, i dont know much but from my experience, the membrane is over the head, and snaps into two peices (as opposed to normal breaking of the waters which would leave a whole membrane with a hole in it) as the body is delivered.
the membrane pulled off as the rest of her was born for us.
(i’d like to know if theres a higher rate of retained goods infection with caul babies, as what happened with me was part of the membrane was left behind!)
Suzi
Also was this a water birth? I wonder if caul baby rates are higher in water births than land ones? (water birth here)
Jaclyn
My daughter was also born in the caul and it was not a water birth.
Jupiter
That is so cool!
My youngest was born partly in the caul. I have to say, it was my most confusing birth. I kept waiting for my water to break, to sort of give me an idea of when to expect transitioning.It didn’t break until the first push and I was like in denial of the whole transition stage b/c my water hadn’t broken .Der. LOL
Jodi
Amazing to see it this way! My first son was born in the caul. My waters would never have broken on their own, but I begged my miwife to do it because I couldn’t take the pressure any more; sometimes I wish I hadn’t, but I must say it was A LOT easier once that big ball of membrane/amniotic fluid stopped pushing to crown first lol. I remember reaching down and thinking I could feel the head, but evidently it was sac. Everyone kept saying he had no hair until Wendy realised what was going on, they were thick as rubber and it took her two goes to (reluctantly) rupture them at my insistance. When he was born he was mostly in the caul with a thick thatch of black hair 🙂 All 8lb11oz of him.
Jodi
I say sometimes I wish I hadn’t had my membranes ruptured; it was my first homebirth and I was aiming to have it intervention-free, but at the same time I wouldn’t give it up for the world. It was so empowering to bring my solid little lad into the world in my own space and at my own pace, so just that one little intervention is never going to ruin it for me. Besides, I got my total intervention-free homebirth next time 😉
Lynn
I don’t think that really counts as intervention. You weren’t pushing to cause labor, just making labor easier in a very practical way. No need to leave it intact at that point!
Morgaine
Thats pretty cool. Arent babies born in the caul supposed to be good luck?
Andrea
Yes! Some people keep the “caul” in a locket or something when this happens. 🙂 It’s supposed to also protect against drowning while being worn this way…
Matthew
I was looking for something amazing/inspirational today. This is more than I expected. Very beautiful photography of this. Thank you for sharing.
Audriana LoBue
That is so amazing! It looks like it would hurt though having a baby with the caul still intact
Andrea
It’s actually less painful. 😉
Marisa
Wow!! That is awesome! So neat 😀
Bethany
Wow. Amazing
Jaclyn
My daughter was also born in the caul, it was fabulous but we have no pictures of it!
Manda
I agree, these are amazing photos! Makes me think about the fact that someone always broke my water for me to try to help things progress.
Andrea
It’s interesting how this is down to help things “progress” even though the pressure of the bag of waters is distributed more evenly against the cervix, helping it dilate more effectively than the oblong head.
Sometimes it breaking the waters can speed things up about a half an hour, because it tricks the body into thinking it should be closer to giving birth, so it’s gives an extra effort to get the fetus out faster, but it usually ends in maternal fatigue, or a cervical “lip”.
Jessicca
Did any of you know that babies born “in the caul” is an ancient sign that the baby will be very strong in psychic intuitiveness? Well known psychic Sylvia Browne was born that way! 😉 Amazing pic.
Susan Peterson
I caught a baby that was born in an intact sack. The mother, my friend, pushed for three hours, when she had previously had an entire labor which only lasted two hours. The baby had her hand up by her head, with the cord wrapped around holding the hand in that position, so my friend pushed out a 9+lb baby, plus the size of the hand, plus all the surrounding sac. When the baby was born she looked the way a puppy or kitten born in a sac does, which is not too alive for the first moment! I had to rip the sac open and let the fluid out before the baby started to breathe and then cry. I have to admit I was anxious in those first moments, after baby took such a long time coming!
Andrea
This is not an emergency… the baby will not attempt to breathe until they are exposed to air…
Evie
I was a caul baby 🙂
Shara cunningham
My sisters baby boy was born in the caul and it was still intact with the waters in it… It was crazy… The dr. Wasn’t there only the nurse and they told her not to push to try and hold him in until the dr. Got there but he slid right out sac and all… They broke it after it was outside her with him in it….
kristen
Melissa did my birth photography she is absolutly amazing! I love this picture she captured, beautiful!
thekrrib
OMG!! That is so awesome!! and the sac is still strong and intact after the baby is out too. The miracles of nature =)
Tepora Deegan
Daughter was born with a membrane on her face.was told by the nurse sailors like to buy it to put in a locket apparently it helps them feel safe ie. From drowning.