Anyone who has experienced or attended a birth knows how magical it can be to witness a brand new human make its entrance into the outside world. Each birth is unique, each baby born an individual with untold potential.
But some births are extra unusual. In the vast majority of births, the protective amniotic sac that holds the baby and the amniotic fluid it “breathes” in the womb breaks at some point in the labor and delivery process. En caul births, in which a baby is born inside an intact amniotic sac, only occur in about 1 in 80,000 births. It’s more common in cesarean births than vaginal births, but still very rare overall.
An en caul birth, sometimes called a “mermaid birth” or “veiled birth,” is seen as a sign of good luck for the baby and parents in some cultures. From a scientific observation point of view, en caul births can give us close-up look at what a baby’s life is like in utero.
Due to the rarity of such births (and the understandable desire for patient privacy), it’s not often that the public gets to see what it looks like. But a viral video showing a baby who was just born en caul offers a beautiful view of what it looks like. Seeing the baby curled up inside the sac and subsequently being “birthed” from it is simply mesmerizing.
Watch:
The video was shared by Dr. Ignacio Perez Tomasone, an OB-GYN in Argentina, on his Instagram account. Dr. Perez Tomasone shares birth videos on his Instagram regularly, but they don’t usually garner more than 3 million views or get comments from people all over the world like this one did.
People referred to the video as “beautiful,” “magnificent,” “incredible” and “miraculous.” The video has also been shared widely on Facebook, with thousands of comments gushing over how amazing it is to see.
Every human being who has ever lived on Earth had to be born into this world, and yet every birth is still a fascinating wonder. The opportunity to see a rare and extra special birth like this one is a gift to us all. Thank you, Dr. Perez Tomasone, for sharing it.
(By the way, If you’re curious about the music played with the video, it’s the song “Devuélvete” by indie Mexican artist Carla Morrison.)
Source: https://www.upworthy.com/doctor-shares-incredible-video-of-en-caul-birth
