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Do you know about “lotus babies”? This practice encouraged by doulas – a profession not recognized in perinatal care – consists of leaving the cord and the placenta attached to the baby until it falls naturally. A practice denounced by the Order of Midwives.
“Lotus babies”: if the name is pretty, the practice, on the other hand, is much less so. A “lotus baby” is a child whose umbilical cord and placenta are not cut at birth. The organ being preserved until it naturally detaches from the infant. This practice would create infectious risks, so the Order of Midwives warns future parents.
A controversial practice, carried out by doulas
This practice is increasingly highlighted on social networks by doulas, these women who claim to be specialists in pregnancy and childbirth, but who have no medical diploma (and sometimes even no training). ). On Instagram, we can see photos of sleeping children, with flowers and a placenta wrapped in a pretty sheet and placed in a basket, nearby. We can easily notice the umbilical cord, still connected to the child. According to doulas, it should fall out on its own, between three and ten days after birth. A way for newborns to “protect themselves from infections” and “strengthen the mother-child bond”.
“Lotus babies”, denounced by midwives
Anne-Marie Curat, treasurer and former president of the National Order of Midwives, quoted by 20 minutes, describes the practice as “esoteric and even dangerous”. For her, “keeping the placenta and waiting for it to smell bad and fall off is too much. Then, there is a risk of infection.”.
In addition to being dangerous, the practice is also pointless. “To say that the baby will continue to be fed by the placenta, it’s impossible. From the moment the cord no longer beats, five minutes after birth, there is no more circulation inside. The vessels are collapsed and there is desiccation. It will fall naturally, it’s physiology” adds the specialist.
The placenta, an organ protected by law
“The placenta can only be collected for therapeutic or scientific purposes if the woman giving birth has not objected to this” recalls the bioethics law of 1994, which was revised in 2011.
However, doulas still continue to offer this lotus practice, but also encapsulation, that is to say steaming the placenta to transform it into capsules or even burying it under a tree (strengthen the link with the child’s ancestors)… Abuses which worry the Order of Midwives, which insists on the fact that it exists “competent and qualified healthcare professionals […] to support mothers and couples on a medical and emotional level: midwives“.
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