Anouk's Search for Lotus Birth

By Jon RG & Troy GN Turner
Nov.13, 2003 - The Netherlands

The telephone rang. The woman calling identified herself as Anouk. She was calling because she was wondering if Troya or I knew anything about Lotus Birth. The word was familiar but neither of us could recall what it was. Anouk started her story:

More than 10 years ago, someone mentioned to me an article about a tribe where parents leave the umbilical cord of their newborn baby uncut. She said that after several days, the babies often take the cord off their bellies themselves. That story & the image of a baby in that state of conscious awareness went right into my heart & tears came into my eyes. 'This is so natural!' was the thought that enveloped me.

In February of 2002, I went to Tasmania for a week. I stayed with a friend in a house close to Hobart. This woman was just assisting a couple & their newborn baby who had a Lotus Birth. She told me that the umbilical cord falls off within 3 to 10 days. She also described, that often the child & her or his parents stay together in peaceful stillness in the room. A friend is usually in the house to take care of household activities & to answer the telephone. Once again, I was enveloped with the vision of bringing a baby into the world in this most natural & respectful way. 

In Tasmania, I was fortunate to find a book about Lotus Birth by Shivam Rachana. I brought it back to The Netherlands as a gift for a pregnant friend I thought might be interested. Eight months later, my husband & I became pregnant. And, of course, I thought about Lotus Birth again. I borrowed the book from my friend & read it. Then, even though I had been deeply moved hearing & reading about Lotus Birth, I was swept with insecurity. It seemed that no one in The Netherlands had ever heard of it. If we were the first family to birth the Lotus way, who would be here to guide us.

I called the Whole-Self Discovery & Development Institute in Grootebroek which was known for Prebirth Psychology. Jon RG & Troya GN Turner had heard of Lotus Birth but admitted that they knew nothing about it. But, Jon RG reassured me that when a question like this was given to him, usually within a few days the answer presented itself. While I waited, I mailed to a few addresses that were given in the book & to the Tasmanian woman & asked for information & support. Jon RG called to tell me that he had just typed 'Lotus Birth' into his Google web browser & received information that there was a woman in Australia who was an authority on Lotus Birth & had written a book about it. This seemed another confirmation.

Sarah J. Buckley, M.D. who wrote articles about Lotus Birth, some of them in the book, & had a few Lotus babies herself, replied & gave me a lot of information & help & links to others who might help. When my friend in Tasmania also sent me very practical information, I felt supported enough & ready to try Lotus Birth even if there was no expert here.

My next worry was how midwives might react to pioneering Lotus Birth with me. I was delighted that my midwives were open & interested. There was concern about how to get blood from the umbilical cord without a clamp in order to check the baby's blood type. The problem was that I have a negative rhesus factor. After a lot of research, we all decided that checking the blood in the usual way wouldn't be necessary, because the father & I both have a negative rhesus factor.

On the night of June 29th to 30th my water broke. Ooooops! Now we had to have the birth going on within 24 hours or the child would have to be born in the hospital. The chance of having a Lotus Birth there was very small. We waited more than 24 hours & just when we were reconciled to the fact that we would have to go to the hospital, the contractions came like an avalanche & within a few hours, we were able to welcome our son Mahi-Noa (Maori-name from New Zealand).

An hour later, after an injection, the placenta also was born. We placed it in a bowl in a nappy & left it attached to Mahi-Noa who was a very healthy, smooth, pink boy. Very soon, the umbilical cord was drained. It felt cold & sticky, so we wanted to keep it away from our son's skin.

By the next morning, most of the cord had dried up to a hard, dark rope. Only where it was covered by Mahi-Noa's clothes & in the nappy, was it still soft. My friend & the kraamhulp washed the placenta, dried it & put salt on both sides so that it could dry.
Mahi-Noa didn't seem to be bothered at all. We were relieved that he was fully okay with everything that we were doing.

Everyday, we put salt on the placenta, which was still connected to Mahi-Noa. During each night, the cord had dried more & by the third day it had dried all the way up to Mahi-Noa's belly. We didn't smell it at all. Actually, it was easy to take care of it - maybe a little impractical in bed with Mahi-Noa & the bowl between us, but we became more & more used to it.

On the fourth day, the cord was hard - brittle in some spots - & we hoped that it wouldn't break in the middle. It didn't. On the evening of the fourth day, the umbilical cord fell off right at the belly-button, just as it was supposed to do. 

We all felt relieved knowing that the birth was now completed & we felt a liberating freedom with our son. We left the placenta just as it was in its bowl in the room for two more days. It was a kind of respect & appreciation. On the evening of the sixth day, we buried it in our garden (a Dutch tradition) where it is protected by the sweet notes of a wind organ in the beautiful red beech tree.