En caul Birth is one of the mysterious types of birth. 1 out of 80,000 babies are born of this type and no wonders to the fact that several myths or superstitious float around it. It is rated to a sign of something special it could appear startling and for a mother it may replicate a scary phenomenon. You need to consider it as something part of the normal birth process.
Caul Birth is a caul and it is termed as a head helmet. It would mean than an amniotic sac still clings on to the face or head of the baby. Hence the term En caul birth and the baby are full submerged in an amniotic sac that replicates a thin or a filmy membrane of sorts. It could also mean born with a veil. The caul emerges when the sac does break away from the birthing process and gets attached to the head of a baby. In most cases the nurse or the doctor is going to peel away the sac without any major issue. In some cases if the caul is still attached to the head of a baby a lot of care must be taken so that one does not tear the skin of the baby.
In most cultures, babies born of this type are a symbol of good luck. It could emerge from the fact that this is a rare condition and there are many interesting stories based on this theory as well. Let us go through some of them
In Rome, the midwives used to steel the caul and then sell them off to lawyers. It was assumed that lawyers who owned a piece of caul could rarely go on to loose a case. This myth slowly spread to England, Denmark and Iceland. There were certain people who believed that a portion of powdered Caul could go on to cure malaria. For example if a caul was placed under the bed of someone it would make his passing easy and this was the logic in a country like Dalmatia. In Belgium a child was only considered to be lucky if the Caul was buried in a field. It was a common sight to come across coal miners carrying along with them cauls to ward off chances of fire emerging from the mines.
There was a theory also floating around that if you possess a caul you are immune from drowning for the rest of your life. But in most cases the immunity does last as long as you own the Caul. There was a particular instance in 1939 where a baby drowned a year after his mother went on to throw the Caul. It is irrespective of the fact that Caul would prevent one from drowning; many families went on to sell Cauls to various families for a decent amount of money as well.
Yes Caul could be rated to be something superficial but it is a natural way of giving birth.
