I have always been fascinated by the life of the placenta. It amazes me that our bodies are able to create this whole new organ to give life and nourishment to our babies as they grow inside of us.I have had three children, all born at home and in the water. It seemed to me a foreign concept, after having a natural pregnancy and birth, to then bring a foreign instrument into the equation. That is why I chose to have a lotus birth.
A lotus birth is leaving the umbilical cord attached to both the baby and the placenta after the birth. In other words, the cord never gets cut. It eventually dries up (usually within 3-7 days) and then falls off on its own, when it’s ready. For me, having lotus births was basically just an extension of the naturalness that I had worked so hard to create for each of my births. I didn’t want that cycle of life to be interfered with in any way. It felt right.
Having a lotus birth isn’t nearly as annoying as one might think… I mean, sure, you have to be mindful of where the placenta is at all times. But I think that is a good thing, because it forces the mother to not try to do too much and to just relax, lie in bed, and bond with her new baby.
Taking care of the placenta is really easy too. We would just put it on a chux pad, sprinkle some sea salt, lavender, and rosemary on it, and wrap it up like a present. The cord just stuck out, uncovered. (I’ve heard of some people who make cute little cozies to house the cord, but I have neither the time nor the know-how to do such a thing.) Then, we would change the chux pad a couple of times a day, and repeat the process. To this day, the smell of lavender leaves reminds me of that precious newborn period. It brings me right back. I love having that memory.
The interesting thing that I have found with the lotus births of my three children is that the timing of when the cord falls off kind of corresponds to what their personality will be like later in life. With my first daughter, Ocean, her cord didn’t fall off until Day 7, and she was a clinging-to-mommy-almost-all-of-the-time kind of baby. With my son, Ezra, his fell off on Day 3, and he has been an independent little spirit, always ready to do things on his own as soon as he can. And with my last daughter, Peace, hers fell off around Day 4, and her
personality seems to be somewhere in between.
I really do think that the cord falls off when the child is ready to release it.
So, in closing, lotus births are not just for the crazies. I am an almost-completely-normal sort of person who does things like watching Friday Night Lights, eating at Chili’s, and walking around the Mall of America.
Having a lotus birth is a perfectly reasonable and normal thing to do, if you stop to think about it. (Which I hope you will, because it really is awesome.)
8 comments:
Thanks for sharing your story. What did you decide to do with your placentas and cords after your baby was done with them?
It does sound a liiiiitle crazy, but that's ok. Is there anything positive for the baby in keeping it attached that you know of? I think it would be fun to do, if for nothing else just to make the doctors at the hospital think I'm crazy.
I can't believe that this is the first time that I have ever heard of this, and it sounds amazing. Like Erica, I am also wondering what, if any, health benefits this brings to baby and mama.
We planted an apple tree over Ocean's placenta at the farm where my husband grew up. The other two placentas are in a desk drawer in our bedroom.
Benefits - Here is some info I found from the links I will include below (and I don't know where they got their information):
"Those who have observed or experienced this note that the babies seem more relaxed and peaceful. They don't usually lose the weight that most infants do, and they are less likely to have breastfeeding jaundice. There is a lower risk of naval infection, and the naval tends to heal two or three weeks faster."
My take on this: All my children never lost weight after being born (as I have heard is what normally happens). Not even a little bit. They had perfect little belly buttons basically right after the cord fell off (which was 3-7 days after birth). And they have all seemed relaxed and peaceful as newborns (at least, as far as I could tell, they were).
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/134969/the_benefits_of_the_obscure_practice.html?cat=25
http://www.lotusfertility.com/Lotus_Birth_Q/Lotus_Birth_QA.html
i went vegan, you enjoy lotus births, the world keeps spinning...
this was fascinating! I almost had a lotus birth with Anna, but everyone seemed so bothered by the idea (including my attendants) that I didn't bother. It would have been pretty neat to do it and perhaps I will stick to my guns and try it next time. I agree that it is natural and simple, and I assumed that it would give them a perfect little belly button.
I think the delayed cord clamping and peaceful births promote infant health and weight gain, even without doing a lotus birth (not that people shouldn't consider lotus births for other reasons); Anna had those characteristics you describe but my hospital-born Mia did not.
So what if you also want to make a placenta smoothie? I'm so conflicted!!!
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