Lotus Birth- anyone planning one? « Back to Group Discussions

[withlittlelungs]

If you are unfamiliar: http://www.lotusbirth.net/index.php/the-value-of-a-lotus-birth

I don't know if it is even an option for us, because we are delivering at a birth center. I am still considering it as an option, but I wanted to try placenta encapsulation and obviously can't do both.

Just wondering if anyone is planning one :)

[babytoes]

I think that for some, this is a great option. As for me, not so much. I will be waiting for the cord to stop pulsating, but allowing the placenta to hang around for 10 days is not my thing. To each their own though!

[beautifulnm]

I think even encapsulation is not an option for us but at least now we can take it home. We are probably going to plant it this time around..

[cocoanib]

No lotus for us. I encapsulated with DD and will be doing it again this time.

last time we were going to wait until the placenta delivered to cut cord, but it was so short that DD couldn't get to my breast, so we cut after it stopped pulsing. 

[revolting]

I eat the placenta shortly after birth, though we do wait for the chord to stop pulsating. I also use the placenta to type the blood for the baby (since I'm Rh- with an Rh+ partner).

[babytoes]

Revolting-  Wow, really? I knew that some people did that. What ia the reasoning behind it?

Like I said before, to each their own, but there are some things I could never do. Eating the placenta is one of them 

[GranolaMama09]

I'm hoping to encapsulate and wait for the cord to stop pulsing but I don't know if it'll be possible with a hospital birth.  :/  I don't think Lotus birth is for us but the concept is nifty!

[ClumsySugarPlum]

Okay, I don't get it. I hope that if this is for you, you go through with it and it works and adds to your birth experience. But, I don't understand how this is any more "natural" than other ways of continuing to use the placenta after birth. I mean, surely, our primate ancestors must have used their teeth or a sharp rock or something. If circumstances changed suddenly and mother and child had to be on the move, the placenta dangling from the baby could have been a hazard, no? What do gorillas do? I apologize if this post sounds ignorant. Obviously, I have never heard of this before. And as I said before, if this is for you, do it.

[BeantownBaby9]

Clumsy, I always ask myself "what would monkey mama do?" with all these birth and natural things.  Funny you said gorilla!

I didn't do anything with DS b/c it was the hospital, but I plan to encapsulate with our HB.  If I feel so inclined to take a bite after I will, can you make jerky? I have a dehydrator

[jodieanneanton]

Revolting, I didn't know you could type the baby's blood through the placenta!  What a great idea, I will have to check into that! :D

[Bena]

Ok, maybe this is a silly question, but i don't get how you nurse with the cord in the way?

[Bena]

Originally Posted by ClumsySugarPlum 

Okay, I don't get it. I hope that if this is for you, you go through with it and it works and adds to your birth experience. But, I don't understand how this is any more "natural" than other ways of continuing to use the placenta after birth. I mean, surely, our primate ancestors must have used their teeth or a sharp rock or something. If circumstances changed suddenly and mother and child had to be on the move, the placenta dangling from the baby could have been a hazard, no? What do gorillas do? I apologize if this post sounds ignorant. Obviously, I have never heard of this before. And as I said before, if this is for you, do it.

Ok....just for the record (and because i'm a bit geeky!)i found on Wikipédia that Jane Goodall observed that chimps didn't chew off the cord and left it intact.

[ClumsySugarPlum]

Well, there ya go! Learn something new every day!

[CalmCenter]

We did a semi-lotus birth with my first. We didn't cut the cord for 6 hours. It was very sweet to leave the placenta attached. I had it in a bowl on a stool next to the couch where my babe and I slept after the birth. We did cut it then, to make it easier to negotiate nursing and such. I was quite weak after the birth and needed all the support I could find.  There are definite benefits to allowing the placenta to stay connected to the child longer, but from my own experience I would recommend being flexible and responding to your needs and your babes in the moment, as you won't know exactly how you'll feel till you are there. 

My husband cut my dd cord and it was just the three of us there. It felt like a very sacred, intimate moment. 

I just weaned my dd at 2 y 7 mo and it felt like another great transition like cutting her umbilical cord. 

We buried her placenta under a nectarine tree. It is fruiting very well this year! It was in a huge pot for a year or so before we had land to plant it on. 

[Linnaea]

I planned on doing a lotus birth with DD, but ended up cutting the cord after 3 days.  The cord was super shriveled at that point and it was becoming more and more difficult to make sure it didn't get pulled on when I'd have to move the placenta around.  She didn't mind at all, in fact, I think it was a bit relieving for her.  Her belly button took just a few days to heal up after that.  The experience taught me that what I believed was going to be magical and spiritual turned out to not be terribly spectacular.  This time around, we'll probably cut the cord after a few hours and then either encapsulate or make a smoothie or 2 or 3   I've wanted to try consuming some or all of the placenta but it makes my stomach turn.  Maybe if I don't look at it, if I let someone else prepare it for me then I won't be so nauseated.

[Linnaea]

oops, double post