The phenomenon of the “happiness hood” actually exists. There are different and unprovable numbers circulating about the frequency. The magazine “ Parents ” writes that midwives estimate that a lucky hood occurs in about one in a thousand births. We are talking about a “caul” or Latin “Caput galeatum” birth.
However, it rarely happens that the baby is born in the entire amniotic sac when it is born. This looks like a full body suit. Then we talk about an en caul birth. There are no exact figures on the frequency, but it is likely that one in 80,000 births will result in an en caul birth.
So what is happening here?
Briefly and quickly explained, contractions usually begin during the birth, the amniotic sac opens during the so-called rupture of the membranes and the amniotic fluid runs out. The baby pushes out of the opened amniotic sac through the cervix.
And the amniotic sac? These remain in the uterus until the afterbirth, when it separates with the placenta. ( HERE )
But nature always has its own miracles. In rare cases, it can happen that the membranes do not rupture and the baby is born in the amniotic sac. We are then talking – as described at the beginning – about an en caul birth. The phenomenon is easy to explain: In this case, the egg membrane is very firm. But it can also be that there is only a little amniotic fluid between the child's head and the amniotic sac. “Then the pressure of contractions is cushioned and the amniotic sac remains intact for a long time or completely,” says “ Parents ” magazine. The baby is born with a “full body suit”.
How does the lucky cap come about?
If the amniotic sac ruptures a little later during birth, part of the membrane can lie over the newborn's head - the lucky cap.
According to superstition, a real lucky child was born here.
The lucky cap is not dangerous for the baby. But in order for the airways to be clear, the remnants of the amniotic sac should be immediately removed from the baby's face. In addition, the amniotic sac can be so tight on the face that it looks like a plastic bag pulled over the head.
And what is happiness all about?
We move away from the facts and immerse ourselves in the world of myths and traditions. But it is precisely these that have their appeal in such phenomena. So let's take a quick look at the Middle Ages.
The cap on the newborn's head already had spiritual meaning back then.
Anything that was unusual or did not correspond to the norm used to be given a deeper meaning. Same here. Sailors are said to have bought lucky bonnets from midwives as talismans because the owner of a lucky bonnet supposedly couldn't drown. It was also not uncommon to sew them into clothing or wear them around the neck as a good luck charm.
The magazine “ familie.de ” states that the skin was also an ingredient in love drinks and it was thought that the lucky cap would make someone fall in love with the wearer. Basically, a lucky cap was seen as something positive, because especially in times when infant mortality was still very high, a birth with an intact amniotic sac meant an almost impossible risk of infection. That's the tradition.
Of course, there is also said to have been the other side: people born with lucky caps were attacked and killed. The Roman Catholic Church is said to have burned them as witches or heretics in the Middle Ages.
This was all due to the fact that children who were born with a lucky cap were believed to have supernatural abilities.
By the way: Sigmund Freud, the founder of psychoanalysis, is said to have been found wearing a lucky cap. Likewise Alexander the Great and Khalil Gibran.
The lucky cap also appears again and again in literature. In addition to the Grimm fairy tale of the devil with three golden hairs, familie.de also points to “David Copperfield” by Charles Dickens. And in Stephen King's "The Shinig" the son is born with a hood over his head and - how scary - of course has supernatural abilities.
We cannot provide a fact check for all of these claims. But let's see the lucky cap for what it certainly is: an incredible insight into the process of nature.
The Brazilian doctor Dr. Rodrigo Rosa posted one such “en caul” birth on Instagram . Warning: This video may be disturbing to some people.
Source: Parents , Parents , Family , Birth Report
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