Photographer Captures Rare Birth Photo of Baby Still in Amniotic Sac
A photographer has captured remarkable photos of a rare 1-in-80,000 “en caul” birth when the baby is born still inside an intact amniotic sac.
Ludmila Gusman, a 44-year-old family and birth photographer based in Brazil, says she was “lucky” to capture the unusual event and describes the event as “sensational.”
“I told you that 2023 was going to be a very lucky year! So here it is,” the photographer writes on her Instagram. “Right on the second day of the year, in the second birth that I register, the opportunity that I’ve waited so long for appears.
“I’ve been photographing births for nine years and this is the first time I’ve photographed a baby with a feather. A rare condition at birth that occurs in every 80,000 deliveries.
“A divine gift for me and the family that will show Nicolas this beautiful debut! It was sensational! Exciting. Thank you mom Reniara and dad Ellom for the invitation.”
The amniotic sac is a bag of fluid where the fetus develops and grows. In most cases, the amniotic sac breaks on its own during birth, this is commonly referred to as the mother’s water breaking.
In very rare cases, roughly one in 80,000 according to BabyMed, the babies are born with the sac fully intact and is easily removed by the doctor or midwife. It is harmless for the baby.
Compared to natural deliveries, however, cesarean section (C-section) deliveries see a higher rate of en caul births, and baby Nicolas was born via C-section at Hospital Sao Paulo de Muriae at 17:55 on January 2 weighing 7.45 pounds (3.38 kilograms). Gusman tells The Epoch Times that when the en caul birth happened her instincts took over.
“The moment I took that picture, it was so quick and automatic that I remember just positioning myself and clicking several times,” says Gusman, who worked as a photojournalist before becoming a birth photographer 9 years ago after giving birth herself. “It was an indescribable and wonderful feeling. Since I started photographing births, I dreamed of being present at a birth like this. I had already seen videos and photos of babies with veils, I had already learned a lot about it, but I didn’t expect it to be in this delivery because the baby was big.”
You can find more of Gusman’s work on her Instagram.
Image credits: All photos courtesy Ludmila Gusman.
