This happens very rarely, so when it was captured on camera and shared on social media, it soon went viral.
Editor's note: This article was originally published on March 18, 2022. It has since been updated.
This story contains graphic medical images which may be disturbing to some readers.
The birth of a child is a wonderful moment. To see a new life being welcomed on the earth is powerful indeed. Despite all the pain and blood associated with it, the birthing process often evokes various emotions and leaves one spellbound.
It is a known fact that the baby stays inside something called an amniotic sac, where they grow and develop as the pregnancy progresses. People know they are close to labor when their water breaks, right? Well, this happens when the amniotic sac—which holds the baby and the amniotic fluid—bursts and the liquid oozes out.
Sometimes people deliver children that are still intact in their amniotic sac, otherwise known as En caul births. When the water does not break during labor, the baby can be born completely inside a jelly-like bubble, according to WebMD.
Such births are more common in cesarean births than vaginal births and are rare—only about 1 in 80,000 times, according to Healthline.
Apparently, an en caul birth, sometimes also known as a "mermaid birth" or "veiled birth," is considered to be 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 a close-up look at what a baby's life is like before they come out into the world.
Whenever this happens, the healthcare provider will gently snip the sac off, to release the fluid, and the baby will be finally out in the real world. En caul births aren’t much different than any other births. If you have a vaginal delivery, the main difference is you won’t feel your water breaking.
Since it's a rather rare occasion some doctors go their entire careers without witnessing one. However, there is a viral video showing exactly what an en caul birth looks like. Seeing that baby all curled up in a still-intact amniotic sac is guaranteed to bring out a lot of emotions.
The video was shared by Dr. Ignacio Perez Tomasone, an OB-GYN in Argentina, on his Instagram account. The doctor usually shares birthing videos on his profile recently, but this is the video that made him go viral!
People left comments under the video, saying that it was such a beautiful thing to watch. One user shared: "Looking at a miracle.. just knowing all that is going on inside of mum's tummy all this time."
"Oh my goodness in Jesus' name, what a beautiful birth. Sweet Baby Boy is holding his head. Probably saying will somebody hurry up and get this double-wrapped cord off my neck. Thank you Doc, Amen," added another person.
Life truly is beautiful, isn't it?
References:
https://www.healthline.com/health/pregnancy/en-caulbirth#
https://www.webmd.com/baby/en-caul-birth-what-is-it
Cover Image Source: Instagram | @nachoptomasone
