Caul

The amniotic sac from an en-caul birth

A child ‘born with the caul’ has a portion of a birth membrane remaining on the head. There are two types of caul membrane and there are four ways such cauls can appear.

The most common caul type is a piece of the thin translucent inner lining of the amnion that breaks away and forms tightly against the head during birth.[2] Such a caul typically clings to the head and face but on rarer occasions drapes over the head and partly down the torso.

The caul is harmless and is immediately removed by the parent, physician or midwife upon birth of the child. If the membrane is of the amniotic tissue it is removed by easily slipping it away from the child's skin. The removal of the thicker membrane is more complex. If done correctly, the attending practitioner will make a small incision in the membrane across the nostrils so that the child can breathe. The loops are then carefully removed from behind the ears. Then the remainder of the caul can be either peeled back very carefully from the skin or gently rubbed with a sheet of paper, which is then peeled away. If removed too quickly, the caul can leave wounds on the infant's flesh at the attachment points, which may leave permanent scars.[2]

Birth with a caul is rare, occurring in fewer than 1 in 80,000 births. This statistic includes en-caul births, which occur more frequently than authentic caul births; therefore authentic caul births are rarer than the statistic indicates.[3] Most en-caul births are premature.

According to Aelius Lampridius, the boy-emperor Diadumenian (208–218) was so named because he was born with a diadem formed by a rolled caul.

In medieval times the appearance of a caul on a newborn baby was seen as a sign of good luck.[4] It was considered an omen that the child was destined for greatness. Gathering the caul onto paper was considered an important tradition of childbirth: the midwife would rub a sheet of paper across the baby's head and face, pressing the material of the caul onto the paper. The caul would then be presented to the mother, to be kept as an heirloom. Some Early Modern European traditions linked caul birth to the ability to defend fertility and the harvest against the forces of evil, particularly witches and sorcerers.[5]

Folklore developed suggesting that possession of a baby's caul would bring its bearer good luck and protect that person from death by drowning. Cauls were therefore highly prized by sailors. Medieval women often sold them to sailors for large sums of money; a caul was regarded as a valuable talisman.[6]

In Polish the idiom w czepku urodzony/a ('born in a bonnet') and in Italian nato/a con la camicia/a ('born with a shirt') both describe a person who is always very lucky.

The Russian phrase родился в рубашке (rodilsya v rubashke, literally ‘born in a shirt’) refers to caul birth and means ‘born lucky’. It is often applied to someone who is oblivious to an impending disaster that is avoided only through luck, as if the birth caul persists as supernatural armor, and in this sense commonly appears in titles or descriptions of Russian dashcam videos.

Not all cultural beliefs about cauls are positive. In Romanian folklore babies born with a caul are said to become strigoi upon death.

• Barbara Barondess[7]
• Edwin Booth[8]
• Lord Byron[9]
• Gabriele d'Annunzio[10]
• J. G. Farrell, novelist[9][11]
• Charles Haughey, An Taoiseach na hEireann
• George Formby, English comedian
• Sigmund Freud[12]
• Johnny Giles[13]
• Lillian Gish[9]
• Liberace[9]
• Edna St. Vincent Millay[14]
• Kim Woodburn[15]
• Jonas Salk[16]
• Abraham Ribicoff[17]
• Nancy Wake[18][19]
• Charles XII of Sweden
• Lee Shelton (disputed)
• Joseph Smith
• Andrew Jackson Davis[20]

Look up caul in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

• "Caul, or Face Veil, Occasionally Present at Birth"
• Folklore of the Isle of Man, Ch. 8
• Caul Bearers United: Authentic Caul History, includes references from The Social History of the Caul by Dr. Thomas R. Forbes