jaundice & lotus birth

In my practice, cutting the cord before placenta delivery is not common--well, we often times do cut cord *just before* plac delivery, when Mama knows it's time and wants it out of the way). Most all cord cutting is 'delayed' (that is, NOT cut prematurely, as is the medical standard)--anywhere from 10-15 min post birth, to an hour or more. I see very very little jaundice, and none that is problematic so far.

As for 'necessary' phototherapy--well, I question this diagnosis. I wasn't there, and you haven't given any bili- numbers or other info, but as far as I can tell, quite often phototherapy is recommended needlessly. I don't worry about bilirubin numbers (or even have it checked) until I see a baby who is exhibiting signs of possible problems. A baby who is alert, sufficiently vigorous and nursing well and often, is not a baby who needs help even though s/he may be pretty jaundiced.

In Heart and Hands she mentions noticing more jaundice in babies who are kept in darker rooms for the first few days of life. Again, I don't know what your babies' numbers were or what symptoms they exhibited, but that might be a consideration for the future if you'll be having more children. It's easy to want to keep the curtains drawn and rooms darkened (from natural light, obviously lamp light doesn't help reduce jaundice) while you rest with your babe the first few days. We remind new mamas to spend some time each day by bright windows or in the sunlight a bit to a minimize jaundice.