LOTUS BIRTH

This book brings up a very important issue – the role of the placenta for the newborn baby. Current practice in the modern cultures around the world is to pay little attention to the placenta. As soon as the baby is born, the placenta is delivered and disposed of. In many cases the umbilical cord is cut as soon as possible to minimise the time each delivery takes in order to decrease the work load for the hospital staff. But as we develop techniques (such as primal and breathwork therapies) that makes it possible for us to re-connect with our birth memories and "re-live" our own birth, we have also begun to understand the importance of creating the ideal situation for the baby. One such realisation is the role of the placenta and the difference it makes to the baby if it gets enough time to adjust to the outside world before the umbilical cord is cut. This book presents a new approach as to how to treat the placenta that must be seen as one extreme among the new ideas. It advocates leaving the placenta attached to the newborn baby for as long as it takes for the umbilical cord to fall off by itself. This may take up to several weeks and requires that the parents treat the placenta properly in order for it to dry up rather than starting to decompose. The ideas presented in this book are very interesting and important since they open up a whole new discussion regarding hospital routines for delivering babies and questions in particular who benefits the most - staff or child. Unfortunately the arguments presented are not very clear or well substantiated. The alternatives presented in the book seem to be focused mainly the two extremes. One is the very mechanical treatment of the birth process, with little attention paid to the needs of the mother and child – which is no longer the norm in many countries. The other is the so called Lotus birth, the natural home birth where the placenta is left to fall of by itself. Little is said about the effects of the more common gentle practice, where the birth takes place in a softer and more home like environment in specially designed hospital wards, where the mother can choose how the child is delivered, where the newborn baby is given time to come around after the birth, quietly and peacefully on the mother's belly, and the placenta is left attached until the umbilical cord has stopped pulsating. On the whole the book presents a somewhat glorified picture of the "good old days" when all children were born at home. To give this view more credibility the issue of complications both for mother and child and the difference in death rate then and now, needs to be raised as well. If the intention is to change awareness of the hospital staff, it does not really help to make out that they are completely insensitive to what they are doing and that all hospital routines are bad. Especially not since the true picture in many countries is that this is an area where change is happening fast and in a very positive direction. It is vaguely hinted throughout the book, that it is equally good to leave the placenta until the cord has stopped pulsating, but there is no direct discussion of difference between this practice and leaving the placenta until it falls off. The main argument for the lotus birth seems to be that it gives mother and child an opportunity to spend time together alone, away from friends and extended family for the first couple of days or weeks (which of course can be done with or without placenta). Other arguments presented are mainly metaphysical, that "the aura is intact" for Lotus children, or that children "prefer" to look at pictures of placentas rather than newborn babies. One of the authors even presents the idea that the placenta has a consciousness of its own. This is a very interesting and revolutionary idea that would have benefited tremendously by some more substantial arguments. Despite the weaknesses in the arguments, this book deserves to get full attention for its new and revolutionary ideas. Hopefully it will lead to more research into this area. Given how little it takes to possibly change a person's whole life, simply by being more aware of the effects of the birth routines on the baby, this is an area that certainly is worth all research it can get.