my OH really wants to do it but hospital not soo happy they are really keen to put us off... trying to see if there are any horror stories so i can see what i am up against fight wise
I have a business selling Lotus Birth Kits and so I've met more women than most who have had a Lotus Birth. In over 15 years have heard of 2 bad stories and in both what happened was that the placenta wasn't tended and so, naturally, it rotted. Very nasty smell and not at all what was intended but also totally straightforward to avoid.
The aim when Lotus Birthing is to tend the placenta to ensure it doesn't rot.
This is very easy to do...you:
1. Thoroughly drain the placenta
2. Thoroughly wash and dry the placenta
3. Air dry the placenta (or pack it in salt and wrap in a breathable cloth).
What you mustn't do and what happened in both the "horror stories" I have heard about is miss one of the above steps. If you don't drain the placenta it will likely rot. If you don't wash the placenta thoroughly or if you leave blood clots on it or if you don't dry it properly afterwards it will rot. If you wrap the placenta in a non breathable fabric it will rot. If you follow the 3 steps it won't rot, or smell offensive, or be horrific but will be a normal natural process where the placenta doesn't rot but dehydrates and becomes preserved.
BTW if a mother is unable to tend the placenta herself it is appropriate for her support people to step in and do this for her. It is a simple task with the initial washing taking around 5 minutes and then (if the placenta is not being air dried) it takes as long as it takes to change a nappy to refresh the salt and rewrap the placenta in a fresh cloth twice the first day and once every day after that until the placenta detaches (usually within a week so a total of 15 minutes for the entire Lotus Birth - not a huge ask). In both the horror stories I mentioned mother was in a bad way afterwards and was unable to care for the placenta herself and unfortunately her support people were unwilling to do this for he and so the neglected placenta rotted. I feel very sad for the Mums and babies that their support people allowed a beautiful ritual to become a stinking mess but that does seem to reflect the poor level of support and respect new mother's in our society receive.
What I can also tell you is that even in the worst case scenario the baby comes to no harm. Aside from the unpleasant smell even an intact placenta that is rotting can't harm the baby in any way. No Lotus Born babies to date have come to any harm.
Sarah Buckley is an Australian doctor who freebirths and Lotus Birthed her baby. She has written this about Lotus Birth and infection as a response to other doctors who illogically claimed there were health risks:
"We don't have any formal research in this area, so I am answering from physiological principles.
From a physiological perspective, I would expect less risks from infection with lotus birth, as there is no cutting of the cord so no conduit for infection to enter the baby's body. In many countries, a major risk for the newborn is from infections such as tetanus entering the baby through unsterile instruments used to cut the cord.
Some worry about infection from the drying placenta somehow getting inside the baby's body, but again, this does not make sense, as all the bacteria that coat the placenta have also coated the baby from birth, so he/she has already been exposed to these bacteria. These are the bacteria from the mother's own gut flora, which colonise the baby's skin and gut and optimise the immune system from birth.
If there are other bacteria such as group B strep (GBS) in the mother's vagina, these will affect the baby during the birth process rather than during the lotus birth period.
Lotus babies are also less likely to be passed around, and so less likely to be exposed to viruses and bacteria from outside the family, which may also reduce risk of infection.
Lastly, I would like to add that many people are a little cautious about lotus birth, which is understandable as it is new and uncommon. So when a lotus baby has for example, some redness or slight discharge around the cord base (which is generally healthy and normal and is part of the cord separation process). or an umbilical hernia, this may be blamed on lotus birth when it is not in fact related. "
