Baby boy born in rare ‘en caul’ birth looks like a doll in a bubble

A baby boy in Brazil has amazed his par­ents and doc­tors by being born in a rare ‘en caul’ birth, where he remained inside his amni­ot­ic sac.

The amni­ot­ic sac is a pro­tec­tive mem­brane that sur­rounds the baby in the womb and is filled with flu­id. It usu­al­ly breaks dur­ing labour, which is called the ‘waters breaking’.

How­ev­er, in some cas­es, the sac does not rup­ture and the baby is born with it intact. This is known as an ‘en caul’ birth and it hap­pens in about one in 80,000 deliveries.

Bernar­do was one of these rare babies who was born ‘en caul’ at the Hos­pi­tal Por­tuges in Sal­vador, Brazil. His moth­er, Jacque­line Melo Oliveira, 43, said he looked ‘like a doll com­ing out of a bubble’.

She shared stun­ning pic­tures of his birth, which show his face pressed against the side of the sac. She said she had nev­er expect­ed to see such a sight, as she had spent 14 years try­ing to conceive.

Bernar­do has a twin broth­er, Rafael, who was born nor­mal­ly a minute before him. Rafael weighed about 5lbs, while Bernar­do weighed about 7lbs 7oz.

The doc­tor who deliv­ered them, Jose Car­los Jesus Gas­par, said there was no risk to Bernardo’s health from being born ‘en caul’. He said: ‘As long as he was inside the bag, that means he was in the envi­ron­ment he’s been in for the last nine months. There is not a sud­den change in the birth process.’

He explained that to free Bernar­do from the sac, he had to care­ful­ly cut it and let the flu­id drain out. He said that being born ‘en caul’ is con­sid­ered a sign of good luck in some cul­tures and myths.

Bernar­do and Rafael are now healthy and hap­py at home with their par­ents. Ms Oliveira said she feels blessed to have them and to wit­ness such a mirac­u­lous birth.