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Childbirth

Share experiences and get support around labour, birth and recovery.

Original poster

Gave birth to waters intact!

34 replies

owoleb11 · 11/08/2016 13:37

When I was in labour with my 2nd son I gave birth to my waters still intact like a huge water balloon. I've wondered for years if this is rare and can't seem to find anything on google apart from the baby being born in the sac which LO wasn't. It was the strangest experience ever and I just wondered if anyone had experienced something similar?

OP posts:
LillianFullStop · 11/08/2016 14:28

Wow that's amazing and quite rare!

I thought the waters would have been within the sac?

Original poster
owoleb11 · 11/08/2016 14:45

I'm guessing it would have been my back waters or something? It's really confusing lol. Waters came out in a ball and baby followed shortly after! ShockSmile

OP posts:
PopsicleBopsicle · 11/08/2016 14:55

I believe it's called being born in the caul. 1 in every 80,000 births!

Other notable 'caulbearers' include Napoleon and Lord Byron.

NotPennysBoat · 11/08/2016 15:05

There was an article in the DM (I know, sorry) only yesterday or the day before where this happened, there was a video. However that was from a c-section birth, but the video is amazing!

PuraVida · 11/08/2016 15:05

My Dd was born in her sack which burst as it touched the floor releasing a tsunami

Apparently sailors used to pay big bucks for the caul and it means the child will never drown. Dd does like swimming very much

Footle · 11/08/2016 15:32

Yup, the child will not die by drowning, apparently.

sparkleglitterdaisy · 11/08/2016 15:35

Old wives tale - it's meant to be lucky !!

Original poster
owoleb11 · 11/08/2016 16:10

wow. he wasn't actually born in the sac but followed shortly after i passed the water sac Confused wonder wether that is why he LOVES swimming Grin

OP posts:
CaptainCallisto · 11/08/2016 16:17

DS2 was very nearly born in the sac. MW was really disappointed as she had never had one born that way before!

The sac went on the penultimate push. MW said 'That's it, baby's crowning', then I pushed, there was a big pop and a squishing sensation, and in my gas & air induced fog I thought for a second that I'd popped his head BlushGrin

datingbarb · 11/08/2016 16:20

2 of my 4 children were (numbers 2 and 4)

My water had not broke the waters were bulging in front of babies head, so that came out first followed by baby it's times the pressure was unbelievable Shock I was shouting at midwife to break them Grin

Unescorted · 11/08/2016 16:23

One of mine was like that - nearly drowned the midwife who was having a nosey. Caught the baby and had an unexpected shower. It can't have been nice.

fuckweasel · 11/08/2016 16:51

I was born in the caul. Supposedly I will never drown, which seeing as I spent a lot of time on boats is handy! Sailors used to carry pieces of caul for good luck and to prevent them drowning.

reallyanotherone · 11/08/2016 16:57

There is no separate water sac?

Your baby and the waters are all together in one sac. "Hind waters" are only the bits that have been blocked in behind the baby, they're not a separate thing either..

Possibly the waters came out in the sac, which then ruptured as the baby came out?

Original poster
owoleb11 · 11/08/2016 16:59

that sounds exactly like mine! pressure was immense and I breathed a sigh of relief thinking i'd pushed baby out but to my disbelief it was my waters Smile

OP posts:
ayria · 11/08/2016 18:14

My waters didn't break when I had my son and were bulging between my legs but it all turned nasty at the end so they were broken. I think he would have been born in the caul had they not done that. I don't even know why they did break my waters tbh. They like doing that though, don't they, even if there's no need to.

Wyldfyre · 11/08/2016 18:18

Not sure if it's still the case but as recently as the 50s the midwife got to keep/sell the caul, unless the father was a sailor.
DFather was born en caul, and the midwife was apparently quite annoyed - she'd never had a caul birth but DGrandfather was Merchant Navy.

SoupDragon · 11/08/2016 18:32

It can't have been intact if your DS wasn't in the sac Confused

Footle · 11/08/2016 19:06

A friend's child was born with the bulging sac pushed in front of his head. His mother told me later "His head was this really weird shape but his dad and everyone seemed happy enough, so I thought it was probably all right ".

Original poster
owoleb11 · 11/08/2016 19:16

my mum and I witnessed the sac (or whatever it was) on the floor intact and she popped it with a needle it was really strange and then baby was born within 10 mins I was just so confused about it all so thought i'd try and seek answers. Also my waters hadn't broken or leaked prior to that

OP posts:
elderberryflower · 11/08/2016 19:24

A separate sac came out before your baby? Could it have been a twin that died earlier in the pregnancy?

MadameJosephine · 11/08/2016 19:29

You must have had 2 separate sacs somehow

Original poster
owoleb11 · 11/08/2016 21:28

www.babycenter.com/400_has-anyone-else-had-two-amniotic-sacs-and-only-one-baby_2975730_242.bc?sortFieldName= just been looking on here and it explains a lot.

OP posts:
alltouchedout · 11/08/2016 21:32

Ds2 was born in the caul, but not fully-his head and shoulders were born in a balloon of water but the lower part of him wasn't. It was by far my easiest birth ( and the myth about caul babies being psychic gives me pause sometimes as he makes eerily correct predictions).

user1468173727 · 06/09/2016 00:04

Wow! I actually never thought anything of it before I read this post! My #1ds was born at 31weeks in the sac. Paramedics had to rip the sac open. I went on to have 2 more ds and mw had to break my waters and she said they was very tough and sent for another mw!

PeppasNanna · 06/09/2016 23:03

Dc4 was born in his waters. It was a water birth too so he 'floated' around the pool for a few minutes after being born.
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