A caul is a membrane that covers the head and face of a newborn baby. Caul births are an extraordinarily rare event, and babies born in this way are sometimes said to have been “born with a veil,” or “born in a shirt.”
While the appearance of a caul may be frightening to a new mother who is unprepared for the sight, the caul is completely harmless, and it is easily removed by the attending physician or midwife. Fewer than one out of every 80,000 babies are born with a caul, which can lend a child’s face a strange, alien appearance.
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