The Case For A Lotus Birth

My sweetest darling baby is a bubbling seven-month-old girl. One year ago, she nestled safely in my womb. My sweet little secret. A secret in the sense that, she was undiscovered, an unwrapped present, if you will. A secret in the way you know the present exists, but you don’t know what you’re getting.

It was amazing to me because, planning my 5th home birth, I really believed I’ve done it all! I was confident and strong! I was going to birth my baby with grace, dignity and empowered the way I have done the last four home births, but this time around, I discovered something not so new about birth!

Oh, how little did I know, that my best birth was yet to come! It started a few pregnancies ago when I stumbled upon a strange term when surfing online. Lotus Birth. Curious, I decided to check it out. The blogs I visited spoke about Lotus birth as a spiritual experience done in a variety of cultures. Now, I am Believer in Jesus Christ of Nazareth, not in a religious way i.e, church-going etc, but spiritual, as I believe the Word of the Living God says:

“But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. God is a Spirit: and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth.” – John 4:23-24

However, the equation of Lotus Birth to a spiritual experience conjured up images of myself sitting in a pretzel form and my hands in the "ohmmm" pose and  I abandoned all vestiges of the possibility of it as I believed it was unnecessary and burdensome (carrying around an attached placenta).

So when I became pregnant with Baby girl, it occurred to me that I should find out if there were any health benefits to a lotus birth. With that in mind. I was on a mission. What I discovered tickled my joy! I was intoxicated with the possibilities of the blessings that I knew could come with a Lotus birth!

What I’ve learned about a Lotus Birth:

• Contributes to the peace and well-being of the baby (less stress)
• Baby gains the full blood volume
• Placenta helps the liver with processing – it's considered the reason why LB babies don’t have breastfeeding jaundice as often.
• Baby retains birth weight  (does not lose weight!)
• Placenta continues to provide vital nutrients

Observations and experiences of other Lotus Birth-ers:

• Babies are peaceful, happy, little to no crying after birth.
• Babies become upset when detached from the umbilical cord.

On my journey to a Lotus Birth found a wonderful advocate for gentle birthing. Dr. Sarah Buckley has a website that is a fountain of resources. On it are some articles that she wrote herself, per her own personal Lotus Birth experiences, as well as information from other sources. She is the author of a book,  “Gentle Birthing”. I have not read this book, (this is not a sponsored post), only the website she hosts.  Here she explains why the “Active management” of the third stage labor creates problems for the mother and child.

“Active management also creates specific problems for mother and baby. In particular, use of active management leads to a newborn baby being deprived of up to half of his or her expected blood volume. This extra blood, which is intended to perfuse the newly functioning lungs and other vital organs, is discarded along with the placenta when active management is used, with possible sequellae such as breathing difficulties and anaemia, especially in vulnerable babies.” – Leaving Well Enough Alone… by Dr. Sarah J. Buckley

I can tell you without a doubt in my mind that this recent birth takes the cake. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve had very successful home births with little problems. The only concern  I had going on this journey was the possibility of my placenta taking too long to deliver as it has in the past. Now that I’ve experienced it I can testify to the fact that my daughter WAS so peaceful and content. With very little crying. She did not lose ONE ounce.  She had no jaundice at all.

And this…this was a shocker to me…I admit I brushed off the stories of babies crying when they finally detached from their placenta. My baby WAILED when her placenta detached! I was devastated for her! It was such an emotional cry! I am totally convinced that babies ARE attached emotionally to their placentas. They need the peaceful, gentle introduction to life, allowing them to stay with what they have known their whole life, is only but a worthwhile sacrifice of the inconvenience of toting around a bulky placenta.

By the way, I delivered my placenta within minutes of birth! Something that has never happened in all of my birth experiences! It is clear to me that the Lord brought me on and through this journey and provided everything I needed to have a Lotus Birth, absolutely my finest hour (s).

How amazing is it that Life never stops teaching?