RE: [ozmidwifery] LOTUS BIRTHS

[Sally Westbury]

Placentas are fascinating.   The belly-button question.. well in fact there is no difference. When the cord is cut there is a little stump that is left to drop off, and iny or an outy.. is an act of nature.   Just my personal thought on Lotus birth. I feel that you should allow yourself the space to not cut the cord or to cut is at whatever point seems right for you and your baby. Occasionally I have me women who have wanted to Lotus birth the placenta but in the end felt overwhelmed, even oppressed by continued management of the placenta which diminished their enjoyment of the baby. So I encourage women not think about Lotus birthing in a prescriptive way but as an opening of possibilities. She can feel it right to leave the placenta to separate without cutting if that feels right, she can cut the cord 1 hour, 4 hours, 24 hours, 48 hours.. whenever it feels right for the mother and child.   Sally Westbury Homebirth Midwife   "You are a midwife, assisting at someone else's birth. Do good without  show or fuss. Facilitate what is happening rather than what you think ought to be happening. If you must take the lead, lead so that the mother is helped, yet still free and in charge. When the baby is born, the mother will rightly say: "We did it ourselves!"  from The Tao Te Ching