One of the Most Amazing Birth Pictures Ever!

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.

40 Comments

  • 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.

  • 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!)

  • 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!

    • 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…

  • 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!

  • 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….

  • 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.

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