Trendy Birthing Ideas, Vol. 1

A good friend of mine, and a wonderful mother of two amazing girls, shared a link with me on my Facebook page yesterday. My best friend Stephanie knows me very well. She shared the link along with a note "Just for you Lanni". She has a great sense of humor. It was an article about a 'New Trend' in birthing and newborn care that really got me laughing. It is, just as the article said, a trend. Or is it? Is it actually like five people participating that wrote an article to make us think we're missing out on something, because we've never heard of this before?

Its called The Lotus Birth, here is a link to the article: New Trend: The Lotus Birth

If you don't want to read the whole article I'll sum it up for you. Some people seem to believe it's unnatural to cut the umbilical cord. Some seem to believe keeping the cord attached along with the placenta is better, carrying it around in a glass jar with the option of wrapping the cord in a silk ribbon. They even take time to describe the smell you'll enjoy while waiting up to TEN DAYS for the thing to dry up and fall off.

Why would this be more natural? They claim that cutting it off can cause infection. Did anyone do any studies about carrying around a rotting piece of meat attached to your newborn? Can that cause infection? Does that breed bacteria? They also claim that the "Lotus Birth teaches that doing so (cutting the umbilical cord) can be bad for babies." Bad for babies? On what grounds, with what research? Sounds convincing right?

Let's think about what natural may really be like. What was it like in the caveman days? The mom or the dad probably would chew through the cord and they would fight for the fresh meat. Maybe even, if they were hungry enough, they would eat the new baby. If the mother was so lucky to survive the birth at all. Should we try this too? Because I think it sounds really natural.

As I told my friend who sent me this article, I think I'll go for a natural prairie home on the range / Oregon Trail style delivery. You bring the warm towels and the whiskey, someone put a wooden spoon in my mouth for me to bite down on and our dog can snatch away the placenta after I deliver. Sound natural? Or maybe I should just use a stick instead of a wooden spoon, just to be safe.

So if you think that the Lotus Birth method sounds right for you, go for it! Maybe you should check with your doctor first. Let us know how it goes. And if we see you walking around the grocery store with your 2 week old and a discomposing body part in a jar still attached to your infant, don't get mad when you see people staring.Your body, your baby, your choice. Own it, but don't expect everyone to do the same thing as you.