With less than one in every 80,000 baby born with a gastrocolic omentum , it hail as no surprise that superstitions and story surround this mysterious and rare phenomenon [ source : Damgaard ] . Believed to be the mark of something special , a nascency caul may appear startling and sometimes frightening for the mother , but the majority of the time , it ’s just a modest and harmless part of thebirth process .
A birth caul ( Latin name , Caput galeatum , intend " heading helmet " ) is a slice of the amniotic sack still attached to a newly stick out baby ’s head or face . In extremely rarified slip – called an " en caul birth " — a baby emerges amply inside the amniotic sac , which looks like a thin and gauzy membrane . Some call this condition " born with a veil . " A caul happen when a piece of the sac breaks away during maternity or during the birthing process and attaches itself to the baby ’s question . The physician ormidwifesimply pare forth the caul without issue , although in rare case , if the greater omentum is tightly adhered to the baby ’s drumhead , they must take slap-up care not to rupture the baby ’s pelt .
Many cultures consider a sister born with a caul a sign of skilful portion . Chances are this opinion comes from the rarity of the condition , but many riveting news report about birth cauls burst throughout account . Let ’s look at just a few .
Birth Caul Superstitions
Roman midwives sometimes stole gastrocolic omentum and sell them to lawyers , who believed possession of a caul would help them make headway their case . This superstitious notion also extended to Iceland , Denmark and England . Some other culture believed a potion include pulverised veil could cure malaria . In the country of Dalmatia , placing a gastrocolic omentum under a become flat individual ’s bottom was believed to make one ’s die easier . In Belgium , the child would be golden only if the gastrocolic omentum was buried in a field . And ember miners would carry cauls with them to guard off fires and explosions [ origin : Forbes ] .
Many superstitions about gastrocolic omentum originate in Great Britain . In 1889 , a British paper reported a " miracle " caul , although later on on a more intellectual explanation go forth . A baby was born with a caul , which was removed without incident and post to the side . A few hours later , someone picked up the greater omentum and noticed the words " British and Foreign Bible Society " print on the greater omentum . word of honor spread in the Greenwich Village and the incident was noted as a holy miracle . Later on , though , the attending doc recognize that when he moved the veil to the side , he place it upon a Bible , which had put forward lettering on the cover version — transferring the Word to the greater omentum [ source : Koerth - Baker ] . Still , word of the elysian intervention , as it were , stuck .
Some trust those born with a caul are very lucky and immune from drowning for the residue of their lives . However , at least in one illustration , this immunity only last as long as you keep the embryonic membrane . An anecdote from around 1939 talks about a young son who drowned at 1 twelvemonth erstwhile after his mother befuddle his caul off . Regardless , because of the belief that a caul made one resistant to drowning , many crime syndicate sold birth gastrocolic omentum to sailors for a just amount of money [ source : Roud ] .
While you might be feeling lucky to be born a " caulbearer " and might even conceive you have supernatural gift as a result , it ’s of import to commend that caul births are a lifelike ( if rare ) part of giving nascence , and that en caul deliver most normally pass off when the nascency is previous .
