What does TTGP think?

divinemsbee · October 2013

So, I just came across this article: https://www.xojane.com/healthy/how-to-lotus-birth and I think this woman is a total nut-bar. I mean, lotus birth I've heard of, but it doesn't seem like there's really any benefit (anyone here do one?). And I'm all for doing research and making ones decisions carefully, but a birth with no people with any sort of medical training in attendance seems like incredibly poor judgment (and I'm wondering what her pre-natal care situation was like). My verdict here is pretty much that I think she's completely batshit.

There's a link to her site with her thoughts on vaccines in the comments. Don't go there unless you need to experience some blind rage.

ksuRN09 · October 2013

I really just don't understand this. I don't think ppl realize how much can go wrong during labor and delivery. They always think "Oh that will never happen to us" but it can and when it does, you might not have time to get to a hospital before something terrible happens. If you want to do things all natural, by all means, please do. There are plenty of birthing centers that will let you do exactly that but still have trained medical staff standing by in case of an emergency. And emergencys happen more than you think during childbirth.

Example: We had a set of twins last year come in. The mom had no prenatal care and had never had an ultrasound bc she went with a doula and did a home birth. Well, baby A came out and instead of the placenta following, a second baby came out. They had no idea there was a second baby til he popped out. What?!? They are so lucky nothing bad happened during delivery. They were admitted 2 weeks later bc the mom was GBS positive (they think) and no one knew until they started getting really sick bc the mom hadn't even taken the babies to the doctor to be checked out.

Kyselova · October 2013

"Other animals chew the cord off shortly after birth, but as a vegan, this option did not appeal to me."

Something tells me she may have actually been serious.

Also, this was taken from her blog..

"Below I have taken a selection of common childhood imbalances from Louise L. Hay’s book ‘You can heal your life’ and given their mental invitations/thoughts that have manifested the illness.

Try not to discredit or take this information too personally; as the buddhists teachings go, we all come here with our own karmas and the only certainty in life is that all humans will endure suffering at some level.

Accidents – Inability to speak up for the self. Rebellion against authority. Belief in violence.
Aches – Longing for love/to be held.
Allergies – Denying own power.
Anemia – Lack of joy. Fear of life. Feeling not good enough.
Adenoids – Family friction. Arguments. Child feeling unwelcome or in the way.
Anxiety – Not trusting the flow and process of life.
Asthma – Smother love. inability to breathe for oneself. Suppressed crying.
Baby asthma – Fear of life. Not wanting to be here.
Bedwetting – Fear of parent, often the father.
Childhood diseases – Childish behaviour in the adults around them.
Colds – Too much going on at once. Mental confusion.
Colic – Mental irritation. Impatience. Annoyance in the surroundings.
Pink eye – Anger and frustration. Not wanting to see.
Eye problems – Not wanting to see what is going on in the family.
Earache – Anger. Not wanting to hear. Too much turmoil. Parents arguing.
Eczema – Breath-taking antagoism. Mental eruptions.
Fevers – Anger. Burning-up.
Overweight – Represents protection. Oversensitivity.
Hay fever – Emotional congestion. Guilt. A belief in persecution. A fear of the calendar.
Headaches – Invalidating the self. Self-criticism. Fear.
Infection – Irritation. Anger. Annoyance.
Inflammation – Fear. Seeing red. Inflamed thinking.
Influenza (Flu) – Response to mass negativity and beliefs. Fear
Jaundice – Internal and external prejudice. Unbalanced reason.
Motion sickness – Fear of not being in control.
Nail bitting – Frustration. Eating away at the self. Spite of a parent.
Nose bleeds – A need for recognition. Feeling unwanted and unrecognised. Crying for love.
Stuttering – Insecurity. Lack of self-expression. Not being allowed to cry."

I'm all for the whole "to each his/her own", when it comes to parenting. But some of those go a little (lot) too far for me when I think of my future LO having any of the above illnesses. Her "baby asthma" one ticked me off in particular.

theninjapanda · October 2013

My ex-husband's mom is a hypnotherapist so I have heard of this. She tried to do some hypnotherapy for me to have a pain free birth. I am not bashing it. But it didn't work. To each their own I suppose.

jnnfrrose6 · October 2013

ksuRN09 said:

I really just don't understand this. I don't think ppl realize how much can go wrong during labor and delivery. They always think "Oh that will never happen to us" but it can and when it does, you might not have time to get to a hospital before something terrible happens. If you want to do things all natural, by all means, please do. There are plenty of birthing centers that will let you do exactly that but still have trained medical staff standing by in case of an emergency. And emergencys happen more than you think during childbirth. Example: We had a set of twins last year come in. The mom had no prenatal care and had never had an ultrasound bc she went with a doula and did a home birth. Well, baby A came out and instead of the placenta following, a second baby came out. They had no idea there was a second baby til he popped out. What?!? They are so lucky nothing bad happened during delivery. They were admitted 2 weeks later bc the mom was GBS positive (they think) and no one knew until they started getting really sick bc the mom hadn't even taken the babies to the doctor to be checked out.

I don't get it either. My SIL is pregnant and they would like to go midwife/home birth in a bathtub. To each his own, but they did meet with the doctor the midwife works with in case there are any complications. My mother went to the appointment with them to meet the doctor (SIL has a better relationship with my mother than her own), and my mother kept asking what if questions. The doctor told her "let's take all these "what ifs" and put them in this tiny box and put it over on the other side of the room because that's how likely they are to happen. They fit in a tiny box." Yeah, they may not happen often and be the exception, but my mother just went through her daughter (me) having an unplanned c-section because LO was breech when we got to the hospital, so we have some experience with the what-ifs in our family.

baby+drumm · October 2013

Natural births are great--I couldn't do one; however, this lady is certifiable!

Valancyy · October 2013

Wow. I read a book, can't remember what it was called, it was written by an OB and it was all about the birth process/history of birth. Very interesting. One thing I remember is that the author mentioned how humans need assistance in birth vs. other animals who can do it alone. It had to do with how our birth canal is shaped and our big heads. Other animals have a much easier time birthing their young.

And...yeah, that picture they showed of the placenta...yuck.

ETA: The book was "Birth Day" by Mark Sloan, a pediatrician. The book is more about babies, but talks about labor too. I got it out of the library.

WolFox · October 2013

I.... I can't make myself read this. I feel the rage shaking within me just reading your comments about it.

I plan on taking a doula to the hospital with us. I would even consider a home birth if I had a low risk pregnancy, but DH is way too scared to allow it. I HOPE to go natural, but we'll see how it goes. There's a lot of choices out there for women when it comes to birth, but when it comes down to brass tax you have to be somewhat intelligent, practical and safe because once the contractions start your birth plan goes out the window.

EmeJay · October 2013

I think it's stupid to compare anything humans do to what animals do. Sure, we're all mamals and all that jazz, but we're evolved.

I ain't about to eat my newborn because I sense danger as my dog won't be competing in a spelling bee anytime soon.

And one thing I've learned since starting to TTC? Never NEVER open a link that is about lotus birth.

CityLover44 · October 2013

I like the part about the musty smelling placenta towards the end.

I'm all for women wanting an unmedicated birth (though I think the idea is appealing, I will probably drug my pregnant self up), but I'm not into births where there is no medical staff present. I do admit that part of that probably stems from the fact that my H is an ER physician, so I know more than I should. I know what can go wrong. And I know sometimes it goes wrong and then it's too late. I find it a bit irresponsible to birth without ANY medical staff in the room.

I also find it weird to stay bonded for 6 days. As much as I already know how much I will love my future children to PIECES, I can't be the only one who will find some relief to actually have baby OUT of womb and NOT be attached. Because at some point I imagine you just need and want that freedom.

CityLover44 · October 2013

macylynn27 said:

Also...if you stay attached for 6 days, what if you get tangled up in the cord or something? I mean, I would be so afraid of tearing it or something.

Yeah... no. It's all weird to me.

I always wonder if those very extreme mothers are those helicopter-like parents in the long run, and then wonder if their relationship someday will actually be really shitty because the kid just wants some freaking freedom and ends up resenting. I'm sure that's not always the case, but I still wonder..

Ladybug622 · October 2013

Anyone else notice the "waterproof pouch" she kept the placenta in looked like a K-Mart bag?

Valancyy · October 2013

Some of the comments on that article are hilarious, I like this one: "I feel sad and oppressed that my mother didn't love me enough to let me snuggle with rotting tissue from her uterus."

INmommy871278 · October 2013

Yea def BSC! I don't understand why you keep the placenta attached, she said that there is only blood flow for the first several minutes and that the cord eventually dried up, so what good is carrying around a decaying placenta attached to your child doing? I can't eve move on to the other issues in the article because my mind can't understand keeping the placenta attached.

iam3jenn · October 2013

Just based on the comments that I am reading here...I will not be opening the link. I can already vote BSC just based on your responses!

Valancyy · October 2013

I went onto this lady's blog to look around, and despite the warning, I looked at the vaccine post. She posts this: "On the other hand diseases such as smallpox and measles still occur frequently today despite vaccination programmes administered to high percentages of the population for quite some time now. "

Yeah, she had no credibility with me to begin with, but if she had even a shred it's gone when she mentions smallpox still occurs frequently. Uh...smallpox has been eradicated. They don't vaccinate for it anymore.

CrazyDaisy8 · October 2013

Guys, get with it. She did have medical numbers on hand if needed. She was well prepared! Duh.

LuckyPenny1231 · October 2013

She is a nut job! It scares me that there are people out there with her views on things (like diseases.) Yikes.

janda426 · October 2013

I pictured the Family Guy prom night dumpster baby episode where they swing the babies around by the cord....

I'm horrible.

Kyselova · October 2013

janda426 said:

I pictured the Family Guy prom night dumpster baby episode where they swing the babies around by the cord.... I'm horrible.

I'm sorry, I think you misspelled "hilarious" somehow.

Thought I'd clear that up for you, @janda426.

Carry on..

ara_cale · October 2013

I'm throwing in another BSC vote. I almost lost it at "musty smell." **shudders**

brownmouse · October 2013

This lady gives home birth and natural birth a bad name. We had a homebirth with DD, and if we get a second we plan on doing a homebirth or possibly our midwives birth center, but unassisted birth is insane. While I believe that for a low risk healthy mom and baby homebirth with a midwife is a great option, not having ANYONE there who is medically trained is crazy! I wont even get in to all that other crazy shit. It just appalls me when people take natural birth to this level because it makes the rest of completely normal home birth families seem BSC.

brownmouse · October 2013

I have to add though, her child is ADORABLE.

ara_cale · October 2013

Elbug said:

To each their own. I don't judge people who want an unassisted birth as long as they had prenatal care and are low risk. Whatev. Shit goes wrong in hospitals all the time but I'm not here for mommy war debate on that.

Here is my birth plan in case anyone wants to read it: https://koibirth.blogspot.com/2011/06/frequently-asked-questions.html
Eta: adding a just in case anyone thinks I'm being serious with this link.

Okay, this makes carrying around a hunk of rotting meat look totally normal and sane. Some of the comments on this one too are just bonkers... like the lady who gave birth unassisted in the woods and is going to have #3 in the ocean, in November. **sighs**

What does TTGP think?

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