Born at Roots Birth Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota | A Powerful En Caul Waterbirth

September 21, 2022 | 3:28 am

Every birth is special and the Gather Birth team feels so grateful to have provided birth photography and doula support to hundreds of families in Minneapolis, St. Paul, and the greater Twin Cities area. Every once in a while our team is present to witness a rare event like an en caul birth, and we’re always happy we have our cameras at the ready.

An en caul birth is when the baby is born inside their intact amniotic sac, because the bag of waters hasn’t ruptured. En caul births happen in roughly 1 out of every 80,000 births! En caul birth is also called “mermaid birth” or “veiled birth” and is considered to be a lucky blessing in many cultures.

A baby being born en caul is more likely in an out-of-hospital birth setting, like a home birth or birth center. This very rare little one was born with the loving and patient support from the midwifery team at Roots Birth Center. These experienced midwives remained watchful and hands-off to ensure this baby would remain nestled inside their amniotic sac at birth.