Don't cut the cord, says mum
WHEN Cher Sievey gave birth to her baby daughter Ophelia she decided to do things a little differently.
Not only did she choose a homebirth without a midwife but she chose not to cut the umbilical cord.
It's a practice known as Lotus Birth, when the placenta and cord remain attached to the baby until the cord detaches naturally, usually after three to five days.
Cher, 28, and her partner Will Thielker live in Brimscombe with their older daughter Aurora, five, and 13-month--old Ophelia. They will be moving to Wales at the end of the month to establish an Instinctual Living Retreat focusing on pregnancy and birth.
"Lotus Birth allows babies to receive all of their blood, oxygen and nutrients through what is known as the placental transfusion, so the baby is able to gently come into the world and become independent from the mother in their own time," said Cher.
"There is iron-rich blood in the placenta that the baby doesn't access until after the birth. When Aurora was born her cord was cut after 30 seconds, so she didn't receive all her blood volume."
Ophelia was born at home with only Will present after Cher opted not to have any medical support.
"Birth is an intimate bonding time. Now the trust between us is incredible," added Cher. She and Will washed Ophelia's placenta, embalmed it in scented oils and wrapped it in a cloth. On the fourth day it detached.
Now Cher wants to increase awareness of the benefits of Lotus Birth.
She said: "I want to open parents' eyes to the options that should be made available to them in pregnancy and birth."
Michelle Poole, head of midwifery at Stroud Maternity Hospital, said NHS guidelines recommend cutting the umbilical cord shortly after birth.
"If a woman requests a Lotus Birth then we will support that choice," she said, adding that there are no known health risks associated with Lotus Birth.
Cher has written an article on her birth experience for The Green Parent Magazine, available to buy at The Green Shop in Bisley.
For more information email her at cheroona@gmail.com.
32 Comments
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by freeethinker
Wednesday, December 07 2011, 3:59AM
“well done, and good luck.. :-)”
by freeethinker
Wednesday, December 07 2011, 3:58AM
“by freethinker
well done :-)”
by Chris2308
Tuesday, December 06 2011, 11:55AM
“Unenchanted, the tragedy of it for me is that clearly they are able to reproduce.
The dangers of this "method" of childbirth and post-natal "care" are so obvious than only the totally unhinged could even consider it as being anything other than disgusting and undesirable.
The very thought of a new born child remaining shackled to a piece of rotting smelly meat until the cord eventually drops off makes me feel like puking.
I took the p*** out of it only because in lampooing the practice it highlights how ludicrous it really is. It's only a matter of time (unless they're doing it already) until they start hunting through the poor child's faeces to find the undigested bits ....... and then ... and then ...
*barf*”
by Unenchanted
Tuesday, December 06 2011, 9:25AM
“'Cher, 28, and her partner Will Thielker live in Brimscombe with their older daughter Aurora, five, and 13-month--old Ophelia. They will be moving to Wales at the end of the month to establish an Instinctual Living Retreat focusing on pregnancy and birth'
People, this tells you all you need to know about this story as Stroud is full of hairy legged, tree hugging, vegan eco (funda)mentalists like this.”
by ScreenIdol
Monday, December 05 2011, 11:26PM
“How on earth do you breast feed if you haven't cut the umbilical cord, do they not bounce back? Is there much elasticity to it?”