These incredible images show a baby girl born via ᴄᴀᴇsᴀʀᴇᴀɴ sᴇᴄᴛɪᴏɴ with the amniotic sac still intact, in a one-in-80,000 event.
The rare event took place at a hospital in the city of Vinaros, in the province of Castellon, in Spain’s eastern Valencia region.
Ana Teijelo, who was in charge of the medical team that carried out the ᴄᴀᴇsᴀʀᴇᴀɴ sᴇᴄᴛɪᴏɴ, shared footage of the delivery that took place on Wednesday, March 23.
She said: “Today at the hospital of Vinaros we had a veiled ᴄᴀᴇsᴀʀᴇᴀɴ sᴇᴄᴛɪᴏɴ (2nd twin), and here you can see the enthusiasm of the participants.”
“Because there are days that make us remember why we’re doing this. I will share it with permission, of course,” she added.
A veiled birth, also known as a ‘mermaid’ or ‘en caul’ birth, is when the baby comes out still inside the intact amniotic sac, which usually ruptures when the expectant mother goes into labour.
It is said to occur just once in every 80,000 births. The amniotic sac is a thin, fluid-filled sac that surrounds the foetus during pregnancy and helps to protect it from injury and regulate its temperature so it can stay warm. When the amniotic sac ruptures, this is what is commonly known as your ‘waters breaking’.
“Beautiful photos, don’t you think?” added Ana. “The first veiled caesarean section I’ve seen and I loved it, and I’m not telling the students anything (although I admit that I’m the one screaming).”
Ana said, “All the staff enjoyed the delivery: midwives, gynaecologists, paediatricians, anaesthesiologists, nurses, nurse technicians, caretakers, students and, of course, the mother. And here are the protagonists, small and large. And to leave a memory of this moment, our staff have made a painting for the mother by printing the ᴘʟᴀᴄᴇɴᴛᴀ and it looks beautiful. Being a good professional is not at odds with being empathetic (don’t be scared when you hear the word ᴘʟᴀᴄᴇɴᴛᴀ, really).”
