Lotus birth

alessalogan

just curious if anyone else is going to be doing a lotus birth?

daylynj

Curious as well...I've read a bit about it and was curious if anyone was planning on or considering it

yl1m32015

I haven't heard of it, but sounds intriguing? Can you educate me on this technique?

alessalogan

I plan to do one, its where you leave the cord attached to the placenta and let it fall of naturally

ammnam14

I've heard it has amazing health benefits. Interesting!

yl1m32015

With the cord still attached to the baby? How long does it last?

alessalogan

it depends on humidity anywhere from a few days to 10 days max. It can also encourage to just lay and rest with baby bonding instead of rushing around and having loads of visitors in the important first few days after birth. 

yl1m32015

Oh, ok. An honest question, so how do you get up to go to the bathroom?

Sorry, genuinely curious, I've never heard of this before.

MorganW24

Embuzz247 said:

Oh, ok. An honest question, so how do you get up to go to the bathroom?

Sorry, genuinely curious, I've never heard of this before.

The placenta is delivered normally but instead of cutting the cord it is left attached. Most women who do this generally put the placenta in a bag or a bowl and the carry it around with the baby since it's still attached. But baby is no longer attached to mama.

I will attach a photo I googled as an example. In this case the placenta is stored in the bag resting by baby's feet.

dp1320

MorganW24 said:

Oh, ok. An honest question, so how do you get up to go to the bathroom? Sorry, genuinely curious, I've never heard of this before.

The placenta is delivered normally but instead of cutting the cord it is left attached. Most women who do this generally put the placenta in a bag or a bowl and the carry it around with the baby since it's still attached. But baby is no longer attached to mama. I will attach a photo I googled as an example. In this case the placenta is stored in the bag resting by baby's feet.

So does the baby get all of the nourishment from the placenta still? Do you breastfeed the baby?

I'm afraid of the "nub" of the umbilical cord after birth...I can't imagine caring for that in addition to a newborn and trying to heal. Eek!

MorganW24

You would still need to nurse the baby. I have a little knowledge of lotus birth but not enough to go into exact details. I'm sure OP will know more since she is planning one.

mfarglio

Are you still able to encapsulate the placenta after it detaches naturally or do you have to pick one or the other? I had never heard of this but sounds very interesting.

BostonBaby1

** loss mentioned**

I have two questions, the first one being, does this influence whether or not your babies bellybutton will be an "innie" or an "outtie?" I heard that sometimes this depends upon where they clamp off the cord.

The second question that I have is when I miscarried, there were complications from my D&C and unfortunately there was still placenta left inside of me. This caused me to begin to become septic. How is this different from leaving it attached to the baby?

alessalogan

it does continue to get it for a few minute after until the cord stops pulsating. Actually in cases of the baby not being able to breath for a few minutes this would mean the baby continues to get oxygen until it breathes, unfortunately the doctors cut it for convenience which stops this! 
After that its more spiritual, bonding and letting things happen naturally. The cord will break of nicely with nothing to have to keep putting alcohol or whatever on like when its cut. 
If you dont want to do this i would advice not cutting for a while to let the baby finish getting all the blood it needs. 

BostonBaby1

alessalogan said:

it does continue to get it for a few minute after until the cord stops pulsating. Actually in cases of the baby not being able to breath for a few minutes this would mean the baby continues to get oxygen until it breathes, unfortunately the doctors cut it for convenience which stops this! 
After that its more spiritual, bonding and letting things happen naturally. The cord will break of nicely with nothing to have to keep putting alcohol or whatever on like when its cut. 
If you dont want to do this i would advice not cutting for a while to let the baby finish getting all the blood it needs. 

I'm sorry, I just realized that I have another question now. I hope I'm not being a bother.

Obviously, banking of cord blood is becoming more and more common. Have there been any studies done that would show which would have better benefits for the baby? The natural process of leaving the placenta attached or the banking of their cord blood in the unlikely event that they may need stem cells or what not from it in the future?

MorganW24

@BostonBaby1

Just to throw this out there, not a specific answer to your question but on topic kind of!
I don't have any specific articles to link to right now but more and more hospitals are implementing delayed cord clamping procedures. At birth up to 70% of babies blood volume can be in the umbilical cord and by delaying the clamping they are able to get this blood which produces overall better outcomes for baby.

hardlyhannah

@BostonBaby1 I don't know about lotus births at all but I happened to ask the midwife I saw at my appointment last week about how innie vs outtie belly buttons happen. She said that it's a fate thing and there's no real rhyme or reason as to who gets what.

redfallon

I'm just wondering how natural this is if animals don't do this. Animals do not leave the placenta attached to the baby until it falls off in a few days. The mother bites through the umbilical cord very soon after the baby is born. 

yl1m32015

So what is preventing the blood and nourishment from the baby to like back wash back into the placenta, causing the baby to lose nutrients?

BostonBaby1

Now I have even more questions.

AlejandraN2

BostonBaby1 not sure if this answers your second question or if I'm misreading your question. But with the lotus birth, you'd deliver the placenta normally. I would imagine it would have to be intact (when i gave birth mine came out intact. That doesn't happen in every birth and I would imagine that's a requirement for a lotus birth). That means that no placenta is left in your uterus. Your baby is out with it. 

On your other question regarding cord blood banking: the two serve completely different uses. The cord blood banking you do in case there's anything in the future either in your baby or future siblings where brand new stem cells would help in the case of diseases like leukemia, thalassemia etc. In our case we chose to do it because my daughter had/has a congenital heart defect and it's recommended to be done for cardiac babies for future uses. 

For lotus birth, I believe the research behind it is less established. I do know though that there are some risks associated with it, mostly relating to the placenta (a live organ) getting infected and passing the infection to the baby. 

I think it's a very personal decision and probably everyone does their own research and decided accordingly. I don't plan on doing it but I am considering cord blood banking again. 

adecembermom2015

So when you leave your placenta on your baby until it falls off, is it still sanitary to eat it? Definitely not in my plans, but curious.

monaclemere

I don't understand the point. Delayed cord clamping makes sense. Carrying around a rotting placenta for 10 days, when it's no longer providing any nourishment does not. As a PP said, even wild animals chew through the cord after delivering their young. This can not be sanitary.

adecembermom2015

Don't google image it guys. Just don't.

mollyjeanh

Not even joking- this whole post is nauseating me. DD's stub got so stinky right before it fell off, I cannot even fathom dragging around a whole rotting placenta. Plus, I looked at the placenta after delivery- do you have any idea how big that thing is?!?

Totally not judging though- to each their own!

yl1m32015

I feel like it would be so incredibly heavy and just get in the way. I can't understand how the baby continues to get nourishment when the cord is dried and shriveled. I think it's safe to say, this technique is not for me. But best of luck OP, hope it goes well for you.

dp1320

mollyjeanh said:

Not even joking- this whole post is nauseating me. DD's stub got so stinky right before it fell off, I cannot even fathom dragging around a whole rotting placenta. Plus, I looked at the placenta after delivery- do you have any idea how big that thing is?!? Totally not judging though- to each their own!

Totally! I feel like this would do the opposite for me - instead of promoting bonding, I think it would make me want to stay away
:-&

But as others have said, it doesn't affect me and to each their own. I've learned something new today!

alessalogan

Ok will try answer some ^points there is a lot raised so i might miss some so feel free to ask again! 
For stem cells its actually good to make sure the baby gets the blood rather than storing it to make sure the baby has it all. 
The baby doesnt have full circulation of blood to the organs that are not being used until after birth, as you continue to get contractions the placenta slowly lets more blood flow into the baby to fill up whats missing, nature is very clever it will make sure the baby gets the blood and not go back again. The baby also self regulates by crying it stops the blood flow which stops it happening too fast if necessary.
As regards to some placenta being left inside maybe this happens when the placenta has been forced out not been left to deliver naturally. 
I understand this isnt for everyone but i hope people consider at least delaying the cord being cut. For me cutting doesnt seem natural. Chimpanzees actually dont bite the cord like other animals. Most animals eat it, but for me i dont eat meat so this doesnt resonate.
 with me.
Yes it can be more work and not how people imagine but for me its worth it. Also keeping it in teh right conditions can help it not smell etc. and you can put nice smelling herbs on it if you are worries about the smell.

adecembermom2015

Which herbs would you recommend?

alessalogan

I have read that Lavender, Goldenseal, Rosemary or Tulsi is good, some places when you buy a lotus bag to put it in they also send you a bag of herbs

monaclemere

I'm still not grasping what the actual benefit of doing this is. Once the cord stops pulsing, and the blood from the placenta has gone to the baby, why continue to keep it attached?

Whovian84

While there are several peer reviewed studies that support delayed cord cutting (you can search for them via Google Scholar),I was not able to find any for lotus births. I would be extremely concerned about infection control in these cases as the placenta is basically an unprotected organ and the great possibility of infection entering at any point on it, the cord, or the point of contact with the baby (especially as it dries/cracks). It would be very difficult to ensure a sterile environment for it. 

Also, this is a particularly interesting study on delayed cord cutting as it is a meta analysis (a cross analysis of several studies that meet criteria to get a larger sample size):

https://www.karger.com/Article/Abstract/108764

I will most likely opt for delayed cord cutting as the benefits really are great.

imfunsizeniki

Just to put my two cents in {gee I'm doing that a bit tonight lol} sometimes there are complications with the placenta that have nothing at all to do with it being left to deliver naturally or not.  With the birth of my daughter my placenta literally fused to the uterine wall during pregnancy, and therefore did NOT come out, even after over an hour of trying to wait and let it come out on it's own.  It had to be manually extracted, and I almost required a d&c to fully remove it.  Thankfully my dr gave it one last go {after my epidural booster finally kicked in since it had completely worn off during labor} and was able to pull it out tiny piece by tiny piece.  In that case, some of it could have been missed and caused complications.  Thankfully that was not the case for me, but it had nothing to do with them not letting it come out on its own.  It literally never would have come out with how badly it was fused to the uterine wall.  And let me just tell you, IF this happens to you, and you did not get an epidural, GET ONE before manual extraction {dr was up to her elbow inside me ripping it out for manual extraction.... seriously the worst pain ever}.

LC122

I'm calling BS. No credible source has been cited and the "explanation" given is just not scientifically accurate.
Once the placenta detaches from the mother and the cord is no longer pulsing, no blood is getting pumped from the placenta to the baby. It was the mother's blood pressure creating that flow gradient.
Once the blood clots and the cord seals off, nothing (beneficial) is being transferred.

The D&C is dilation and curettage, the placenta/products of conception are removed from the uterus (as opposed to detaching as happens at birth) by the doctor. Sometimes some remains in the uterus, not intentionally. Doctors/nurses/midwives inspect the placenta after delivery to make sure it is intact and doesn't need to be sent for pathology.

Also, as point of fact, placenta is not "meat". "Meat" is muscle. At best, placenta would be considered offal. Not to be confused with awful, like this idea.

yl1m32015

LC122 said:

I'm calling BS. No credible source has been cited and the "explanation" given is just not scientifically accurate.
Once the placenta detaches from the mother and the cord is no longer pulsing, no blood is getting pumped from the placenta to the baby. It was the mother's blood pressure creating that flow gradient.
Once the blood clots and the cord seals off, nothing (beneficial) is being transferred.

The D&C is dilation and curettage, the placenta/products of conception are removed from the uterus (as opposed to detaching as happens at birth) by the doctor. Sometimes some remains in the uterus, not intentionally. Doctors/nurses/midwives inspect the placenta after delivery to make sure it is intact and doesn't need to be sent for pathology.

Also, as point of fact, placenta is not "meat". "Meat" is muscle. At best, placenta would be considered offal. Not to be confused with awful, like this idea.

I just had to say that I had to laugh at the "offal-awful" lol!

Whovian84

imfunsizeniki I'm so sorry you had to go through that! What an awful experience!

@LC122 : YES--you are amazing. 

ammnam14

I've read that it is not so popular in the US, but definitely trending in the UK. Perhaps it is a cultural thing. I confused this with the delayed cord clamping, which is something I'm definitely interested in doing!

apaiget

If the benefit is to encourage bonding with the baby and keeping others away, why not just tell people you don't want visitors for a bit and not risk your baby getting an infection from the placenta?

alessalogan

it can be a spiritual things and infection is also a risk with the cut cord! thats why you have to treat it until it falls off.

Please leave it with the '"I call bs responses" I was not asking what your scientific views where more curious if others were doing it so we could support each other. Plenty of people are doing things i consider extremely bad for the baby especially with diets i see people eat but i dont go writing my opinions on that out of respect and knowing that people are doing as they please. 

There are ancient cultures and tribes that have done this, its not just a new fad.

missphil

magburt said:

Don't google image it guys. Just don't.

Lol this made me giggle
It's not that bad once you've seen what a placenta looks like.

I'm also curious to know if you can still encapsulate and eat your placenta after this

alessalogan

i am not sure if you can, there is a lotus birth fb group its maybe worth asking in there