A Labor of Love

Posted on 25 October, 2013 by Judith Halek

By Judith Elaine Halek
Photographs © Judith Elaine Halek

Women In Photography debuts an photographs and an article on
photographing water labors and births in the No. 8, Fall Issue,
October 1, 2001 Issue. The following is a rendition of the
article written by Judith Halek that appeared in this issue.

To view the website of Women in Photography, click here.

Archive 8 – WIPI News Article 3

Documenting births has been an obsession of mine since 1987 when
I assisted the first homebirth, waterbirth in New York City. Over the past fourteen years
I have slipped in and out of one of the most intimate experiences known to life.
I’ve had the privilege of documenting three separate environments;
homes, hospitals and birth centers. My specialty is underwater birth.

Waterbirth takes place when the baby is actually born from the womb of water inside the mother, to an extended womb of water, which could be a bathtub, a portable birthing pool, a jacuzzi, a water trough, or an ocean.

On my first contact with a couple, I give them a package of information and refer them to my website. After they have received the package and reviewed the site, we discuss what they like, what more they want and if whether there is a preference for a specific format, i.e., transparencies, and negatives, black/white, color.

Personally, I prefer to shoot with color negative because it offers more advanced emulsions. The additional color layers give better control in Photoshop. Black and white is the heart of photography, and from the purists point of view, film is superior to digital, yet, in the last three years technology has changed this. Today printing from a digital file with the special small gamut or monochrome black and white inks, creates a cutting edge print as acute as the traditional print from a darkroom.

The first thing to establish is the due date. One can be on call
approximately three weeks before the due date and two weeks after, unless it will be a home birth where the post dates could last up to four or five weeks. We discuss whether the couple wants me to be at their home before they go to the hospital or birth center.

It’s imperative to have permission to photograph from the hospital or birth center. Put something in writing and submit it to the medical facility before hand. One doesn’t want to become an intruder and sometimes medical personnel can be security conscious. When parents create their birth plan, photographic permission ought to be included as part of the labor/birth.

I work with the available light. Because of its invasive nature, I rarely use a strobe. I find available lighting creates a truer, softer,
journalistic reflection. I work with the fastest film for the camera:
Ilford and T-Max 400 and 800 for black and white and Fuji color (I find the skin tones are truer with Fuji). Sometimes I’ll be creative and shoot 1600 and 3200 when I’m at a home where candles are the only light source. I then utilize a monopod.I take anywhere between 5-8 rolls of film. I participate quietly in the labor and birth dance by making myself as inconspicuous as possible and shoot further away rather than close up. I work with the Canon EOS, SLR system; two cameras at a time with the Canon Elf as a third back up if we are transferring to the hospital or birth center. I use a EF 50mm f1:4 and EF 70-200 f1.2.8 lenses. I advise taking along a wide-angle lens such as a
21mm or 28mm for the confined areas.
When shooting, it1s important to focus on the details. Focus on becoming a Zen photographer and capture tender moments of father comforting mother, a gentle touch on a belly, a reflection in a mirror, a flower floating in water.If you are fortunate enough to be invited into the OR in a hospital,
you’ll wear their sterile gowns. Pay attention to where you can and cannot be, and don’t touch anything! Take a small fanny pack for your film. In a birth center you can wear comfortable clothing to move around in, climb on top of tables, beds, chairs, or edges of the tub. A home birth environment is the most relaxed. Wear clean clothes, shoes that slip on and off easily, take time to use the bathroom, eat and hydrate yourself with something other than caffeine.Labors and births can take from 25 minutes to 18-20 hours. Patience and vigilance are the keys. It’s like covering a sporting event. You have no idea what’s going to happen minute to minute. Conserve your energy by breathing in such a way as to stay in a calm, neutral state, both mentally and physically. Most importantly, enjoy… the miraculous experience.

Judith Halek is the director of Birth Balance, the east coast resource center for under water birth. Judith is now in the process of moving her 15 years of photography out to the public. She has been published in numerous birth journals such as Midwifery Today, The Journal of Perinatal Education an ASPO/LAMAZE Publication as well as New York Magazine. She will be debuting her first solo show at a prestigious birth center in New York City this winter.

Her website is www.birthbalance.com
Her email is Judith@BirthBalance.com
Phone and Fax: 212-222-4349

*Judith Halek is among the photographers of
WIPI’s 20th Anniversary International Tea Time exhibit

Placenta Medicine- The Tree of Life

Posted on 3 September, 2013 by Judith Halek

So why would one want to do anything with a placenta other than grow a baby in one and discard it after the birth? That’s a question I get far too often when I bring up the possibility of doing something with the placenta after the birth.

Some people plant trees or bushes over it, other’s bury it in a garden to enrich the soil and celebrate the new life given to them. It is a dedication of the placenta back to the earth in honor of the child coming into their lives. A year later, a tree, flower, bush is planted in the same spot to allow the placenta to nourish it’s growth. The waiting of a year is to assure the growth or a new seedling because the nutrient rich placenta can potentially kill anything planted before a year. There are what reader Judy Pfeifer calls “birthing bushes” across the city: flowering yews, almond trees, lilies, camellias, raspberry canes and tomatoes. Roses are popular bushes to plant atop a child’s placenta – and they flourish, I’m told. Magnolias, not so.

Actor Matthew McConaughey brought this ritual into news when he announced he planned to plant the placenta of his son, Levi, in an orchard. If you are planning to plant the placenta, you can freeze it until you are ready to plant. After a year in the ground, the placenta breaks down in the soil and delivers nutrients that will produce a beautiful tree, bush or flower. You can even put together a ‘placenta planting party’ and turn the event into a big celebration honoring your child on their first birthday. A tender suggestion from Loreen Lee: “I think this calls for a garden burial, then above the spot a sandbox and playhouse with a little plaque, `Noah’s place – enter here.’” Jeanne Mott’s grandsons’ placentas are planted beneath trees that bear flowers and berries in spring, she writes, and a tree with heart-shaped leaves that turns rich shades of golden-orange for her October-born granddaughter. “(The children) all refer to the trees as `my tree,’ and it has become part of their personal identity in their yard, cementing their sense of place perhaps. Just a little thing, but rather sweet.”

To make a placenta print, you take a piece of watercolor paper and lay the placenta on it, along with the cord attached. Let it dry and then choose paints to add color to the piece. Hang it in a boxed frame because the ‘ink’ is a blood born base and it protects the art as well as others being exposed to the material, or store the piece for safekeeping. I was at a birth recently for twins where they were NOT allowed to remove the placentas from the hospital, so I brought in 4 large pieces of art paper and when most of the staff had left the OR (operating room), the head nurse allowed me to make some placenta art for the parents to take home. They had a vaginal birth with the twins! This placenta print here is by Patience of Art of Patience. You may see her other work at: http://artofpatience.ourprairie.net

Still, placentophagy, eating a placenta cooked or not cooked, isn’t something recently dreamed up by crunchy granola types — it’s been going on in many parts of the world for centuries:

In parts of Indonesia, the Czech Republic and Morocco, new mothers once believed eating the placenta guarantees future fertility.
Once women in Hungary had tired of the whole child-bearing business, they believed that by burning the placenta and placing the ashes in their husband’s drink, he’d soon be shooting blanks.

The German word for placenta is Mutterkucken and the Dutch word for it is Moederkoek. Both words mean “mother-cake.”

Among the Hmong culture of Southeast Asia, the word for placenta can be translated as “jacket,” as it’s considered an infant’s first and finest clothing. The Hmong bury the placenta outside. They believe that after death, the soul must retrace the journeys undertaken in life until it reaches the burial place of its placenta jacket.

Buddhists liken the unfolding of the lotus petals to the unfolding of the divine within the human self. The closed bloom represents the heart with its infinite potential for enlightenment. The open blossom represents the enlightened self. Lotus jewelry is a cherished keepsake for the new mother after a lotus birth.

Among the Navajo Indians of the Southwest, it’s customary to bury a child’s placenta within the sacred Four Corners of the tribe’s reservation as a binder to ancestral land and people. New Zealand’s Maoris have the same tradition of burying the placenta within native soil. In their native language, the word for land and placenta are the same: whenua.

The indigenous Bolivian Aymara and Quecha people believe the placenta has its own spirit. It is to be washed and buried by the husband in a secret and shady place. If this ritual is not performed correctly, they believe, the mother or baby may become very sick or even die.

The Ibo of Nigeria and Ghana treat the placenta as the dead twin of the live child and give it full burial rites.

Filipina mothers are known to bury the placenta with books, in hopes of a smart child.

Other cultures place a symbol of their people with the placenta when burying it, as a kind of heritage insurance.

Gossip blogs have said Eva Longoria keeps her baby face by using EMK Placental Face Cream, an $85 product which uses placenta protein extract. Tribes in the Ural Mountains in Russia thought of the placenta as a caretaker for the child — and as such, it deserved a warm welcome. Along with carefully knitted clothes for the infant, they’d create a tiny shirt for the placenta. Some Maori women in New Zealand believe the afterbirth must be buried immediately, and that disposing it in any other way will harm the child.

One group of Siberian people believed when the baby laughed in its sleep, it was because the soul of the placenta had visited it. In parts of Norway, mothers would stab the placenta with a knife, believing it was a horrible monster that must be killed.

“It’s an organ. So, just like any organ meat, if it wasn’t kept well — if it wasn’t frozen or kept at a cool temperature — you have a danger of bacteria or something growing,” Schorn says. “But there’s nothing inherent about placenta that would make it more dangerous than any other meat.”

There are recipes for cooking placentas such as, placenta stew, placenta lasagna, power drinks and others. Some choose to eat the placenta raw. Consumption of uncooked human placenta carries risks associated with other human blood products. There is the risk of hepatitis B,C, and HIV infection. If you eat your own placenta, it does not carry these risks. There are many reasons for eating the placenta after a birth. It helps the womb to contract. Many animals eat their own placenta as a means to hide the scent from predators.

The placenta is a living organ, filled with natural oxytocins, attached to the mother’s womb where it draws nourishment and oxygen from the mother and delivers it to the baby via the umbilical cord. The placenta joins the mother to the baby and the baby to the mother. It is truly the baby’s “life support” system during the pregnancy. It is about 1/6th of the baby’s weight. It acts as an endocrine gland, producing estrogen, progesterone and gonadotrophin. The womb and the placenta have a fine membrane separating them. Surprisingly, the blood of the mother and the baby do not mix.

Placentas have a life and mind of their own, connected energetically and physically to the mind of the baby and the mother. Sometimes the placentas register in the womb in an anterior or posterior, low lying (placenta previa) or high lying position. If the placenta is low-lying, near the cervix, there is an imagery exercise one can do to help “raise up the placenta” so a vaginal birth is possible. Placentas can also be attached too deeply into the womb wall, (placenta accrete) which might cause problems with the removal after the birth of the baby. Imagery can be helpful here as well.

Preparing the placenta for consumption by mothers is considered traditional among Vietnamese and Chinese people. The Chinese believe a nursing mother should boil the placenta, make a broth, then drink it to improve her milk. Traditional Chinese Medicine consider the placenta a powerful and sacred medicine full of life force, Qi. Chinese women thought a bite of dried placenta would speed up labor. They make medicinal capsules and/or herbal – homeopathic tinctures out of it. Some consider it cannibalism, others find it extremely helpful to ward off ‘baby blues’ experienced in about 80% of women in the first few days or weeks after the birth. Some situations become more severe and post partum depression, (PPD) may evolve. The placenta medicine has been known to; ward off both the blues and PPD, shorten the post bleeding time, restore lost hormones, nourish the blood, replenish depleted iron, reduce the overall recovery time from labor and birth for baby and mother after the birth, increase energy, boost the immune systems and enhance milk production. Placentophagy, or consumption of the placenta has been around for centuries.

The Science of Placenta Medicine (from www.placentabakery.com)

The known ingredients that give the placenta its healing properties are:

Gonadotrophin: the precursor to estrogen, progesterone and testosterone,

Prolactin: promotes lactation,

Oxytocin: for pain and bonding; produced during breastfeeding to facilitate bonding of mother and infant. In pharmaceutical form this is a very addictive drug because it promotes a feeling of connectedness with others,

Thyroid stimulating hormone: boosts energy and helps recovery from stressful events,

Cortisone: combats stress and unlocks energy stores,

Interferon: stimulates the immune system to protect against infections,

Prostaglandins: anti-inflammatory,

Hemoglobin: replenishes iron deficiency and anemia, a common postpartum condition,

Urokinase inhibiting factor and factor XIII: stops bleeding and enhances wound healing,

Gammaglobulin: immune booster that helps protect against postpartum infections.

So, as you can see, the placenta is full of feel-good hormones and healing chemicals,

Clinical Research: (from www.placentabakery.com)

“It has been shown that the feeding of desiccated placenta to women during the first eleven days after parturition causes an increase in the protein and lactose percent of the milk… All the mothers were receiving the same diet, and to the second set 0.6mg of desiccated placenta was fed three times a day throughout the period. Certain definite differences in the progress of growth of the two sets of infants are to be observed. It is evident that the recovery from the postnatal decline in weight is hastened by the consumption of milk produced under the influence of maternally ingested placenta.” McNeile, Lyle G. 1918. The American journal of obstetrics and diseases of women and children, 77. W.A. Townsend & Adams, original press: University of Michigan.

Powdered Placenta Hominis was used for 57 cases of insufficient lactation. Within 4 days, 48 women had markedly increased milk production, with the remainder following suit over the next three days.” Bensky/Gamble. 1997. Materia Medica, Eastland Press, 549.

“All patients were given desiccated placenta prepared as previously described (C.A. II, 2492) in doses of 10 grains in a capsule 3 times a day. Only those mothers were chosen for the study whose parturition was normal and only the weights of those infants were recorded whose soul source of nourishment was mothers milk. The growth of 177 infants was studied. The rate of growth is increased by the ingestion of placenta by the mother… the maternal ingestion of dried placenta tissue so stimulates the tissues of the infants feeding on the milk produced during this time, that unit weight is able to add on greater increments of matter, from day to day, than can unit weight of infants feeding on milk from mothers not ingesting this substance.” Hammett, Frederick. S. 1918. The Journal of Biological Chemistry, 36. American Society of Biological Chemists, Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research, original press: Harvard University.

“Giving…placenta to a new mother following birth has become standard protocol among a growing number of midwives in the United States. By nourishing the blood and fluids, endocrine glands and organs, Placenta will …reduce or stop postpartum bleeding, speed up recovery, boost energy and relieve postpartum blues.” Homes, Peter. 1993. Jade Remedies, Snow Lotus Press, 352.

This is the LONGEST umbilical cord I have seen in my 23 year career: 38.5 inches long. Normal is: 20ish”

Then, there’s the not-so-ceremonial use of it, the commercial use of “placenta extract” found in some cosmetics, such as facial cream sold in France. In 1994, Britain banned the practice of collecting placentas in hospitals from unsuspecting mothers, after it was learned that 360 tons of it were annually being bought and shipped by French pharmaceutical firms. They used it to make a protein, albumin, for burns and to make enzymes to treat rare genetic disorders. Did you know that many beauty products contain placenta? (Jodome Organic Placenta Soap)

Freezing the placenta is not suggested unless it is for a short period of time. (up to 3 months) If you do freeze your placenta, it is best to double zip-lock it in gallon sized bags with all the excess air squeezed out within an hour or so of the birth. Refrigeration for any ‘length’ of time will result in ‘spoiled meat’ and the placenta will not be viable. If you are having your baby in the hospital you must speak with your medical caregiver ahead of time, before the labor and birth about taking it home with you. Most hospitals have a protocol to bring your placenta to pathology, keep it for five or more days and then discard it. It will not be refridgerated and probably put in formaldihyde. You must not use the placenta at this point. Make special arrangements with the hospital staff to either release it right away or have it immediately frozen rather than refrigerated if they insist on keeping it for a period of time. Legally the placenta is your property. They may require you to sign forms upon admission regarding the after birth. You may just write, “I do not consent” on the form.

It must be in your birth plan at the time to delay cord clamping and cutting until the cord has totally stopped pulsing. Early cord clamping leaves the placenta engorged with blood and the baby is deprived of up to half of their blood volume and vital stem cells.

So what is the proper way to prepare an encapsulation of the placenta? Every website will explain it a little differently. It is best to encapsulate within 2-3 days after the birth. I find when I steam the placenta before I dry it, there are fewer pills than when I just rinse the placenta with cold water, cut it into thin slices and dehydrate it. The ‘energy’ put into the preparation will go into the capsules, so healing prayers, music and laughter is best when preparing the medicine. One can pay someone to do the procedure, which can take from 12-18 hours to do, or research and do it yourself. I can get between 130-250 pills per placenta. If I do not make an herbal tincture with part of the placenta and the sheath or sacs, I can get more pills. Contrary to what many people say, I actually DRY the amniotic sacs and pulverize with the rest of the placenta parts. I also add a bit of dried lemon grass, echinacea and garlic to help boost the immune system to the mother and the baby. Lemon grass treats problems with digestive systems and is useful for relieving muscle spasms. It also balances the nervous system and provides a gentle boost when exhausted. Echinacea stimulates the immune system and promotes T-cell activation. It helps white blood cells attack germs. Garlic is well known as the “wonder drug” for boosting the immune system. By adding a small amount of each of these herbs to the capsules, the color of the pills may change from a darkish black to a lighter brown.

After the capsules are made they suggest a postpartum course of 2 capsules at a time with white wine. The wine is suppose to disperse the energy of the placenta throughout the body. This dosage can be taken up to 3 times a day until the mother feels balanced out. The remaining medicine can be taken homeopathically for the times when one’s child may be undergoing separation anxiety, or first steps, weaning a baby, etc.

I also make herbal ‘tinctures’ with different parts of the placenta. I gestate the parts for 6 weeks in one hundred proof vodka in a glass jar. I put the name of the mother/baby and birthdate on the outside of the glass jar along with a particular word that will carry the vibration the mother would like to infuse in the medicine. Afterward I drain out the excess birth matter and give the client a quart jar of pure mother placenta tincture. She can put 10 drops in a small amount of water and drink it during the times of transition for her baby or herself after the capsules are finished. This becomes a remedy for her and the family for many years. If one chooses to break down the mixture 10, 20, 30 times, etc., in a mixture of 80% distilled water and 20% alcohol, they can have a homeopathic remedy for the rest of their lives!

Jeanine Parvati-Baker, a shamanistic midwife, taught me to cut the umbilical cord from the placenta, lay it out flat on a piece of wax paper overnight to dry and in the morning, roll the cord partially dried into a circle and let dry completely. Then I put the cord, a placenta capsule and some sage leaves into a small animal skin medicine bag I have made by a woman in Florida: Charlotte Litton Bryant, charlo721@yahoo.com /Email. I encourage the parents to take the cord out each year, take a photo of it and observe how it changes as it dries every year. Jeanine would do a ‘reading’ each year for her children, just by looking at the changes in the cord.

There is a wonderful book called, “Placenta: The Gift of LIfe,” by Cornelia Enning. The book covers the rituals from around the world, and the historical use of placenta remedies used throughout the ages. There are recipes for ointments, essences and other remedies. This is a groundbreaking book and the only guide to using placenta currently on the market. To order go to: http://www.midwiferytoday.com/merchant2/merchant.mv? Store_Code=MT&Screen=PROD&Product_Code=MB01

Another book about placenta medicine hot off the press: ”The Natural Healing Power of the Placenta” by midwife, Jenny West, LM, CPM. You may reach her to order a copy at: 505- 294-4359 or info@tubsntea.com or http://www.albuquerquehomebirth.com/contactJenny.htm

The placenta is a rich source of blood stem cells. ”Researchers at Children’s Hospital Boston and the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute report a surprising finding about embryonic development: the blood system begins to form not only in the embryo itself, but also in the placenta, the organ that nurtures the baby in utero.” To read more, go to: http://www.bio-medicine.org/biology-news/Placenta-Is-A-Rich-Source-Of-Blood-Stem-Cells-178-1/

Discarded placentas deliver researchers promising cells similar to embryonic stem cells. ”Routinely discarded as medical waste, placental tissue could feasibly provide an abundant source of cells with the same potential to treat diseases and regenerate tissues as their more controversial counterparts, embryonic stem cells, suggests a University of Pittsburgh study to be published in the journal Stem Cells and available now as an early online publication in Stem Cells Express.” To read more, go to:http://www.bio-medicine.org/biology-news/Discarded-placentas-deliver-researchers-promising-cells-similar-to-embryonic-stem-cells-1575-1/

This is an article put out by Search Time.com, partners with CNN on Friday, July 3, 2009. It’s entitled, “Afterbirth: It’s What’s For Dinner” By Joel Stein, an LA journalist. A professional placenta chef comes to Stein’s home to prepare his wife’s placenta into pills. There is a video included in the article: http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1908194,00.html

A wonderful site to gather information and possibly order your own kit to encapsulate your placenta is: Placenta Benefits.info with Jodi Selander. There is an article in The Compleat Mother, Issue Number 87, 2008, $3, “Placenta For Postpartum Wellness,” by Jodi Selander, North Las Vegas, Nevada. To get a back copy of the issue: contact: Jodi McLaughlin, editor of The Compleat Mother at Jody@minot.com. If you would like to download the article from a URL, please go to:http://www.compleatmother.com/pdf/no.87-Fall’07.pdf. The download will take about 15 seconds with a fast connection and longer with a slower connection.

Check out the following video by Dr. Stuart Fischbein: Delayed Cord Clamping:

http://www.metacafe.com/watch/yt-WWCOzkSe85M/dr_stuart_fischbein_delayed_cord_clamping/

British designer Alex Green had grander ambitions – he made a teddy bear out of one, which has caused a stir in England, where it’s still on display in art galleries. His point was to provoke thought about Western society’s disdain for an organ that sustains life. “I was trying to give the placenta a bit of PR,” he says. The name of the article about this is: “Placenta Teddy Bears, Meals Sier Debate, Revulsion. Inventive Uses for the Afterbirth Include Placenta Pill, Objects, Trees.” By Lauren Cox, ABC News Medical Unit, November 10, 2009:http://abcnews.go.com/Health/MindMoodNews/placenta-teddy-bear-turns-heads/Story?id=9043347&page=1

MEDIA COVERAGE OF THE PLACENTA CONTROVERSY:

Placenta pizza? Some new moms try old rituals, By Melissa Dahl MSNBChttp://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22087790/

Ingesting the placenta: Is it healthy for new moms? By Steve Friess http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2007-07-18-placenta-ingestion_N.htm

Afterbirth: It’s What’s For Dinner, By Joel Stein Timehttp://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1908194,00.html

New Moms Pop Placenta Pills, By Valerie Hauch, The Toronto Star, May 5, 2011 http://www.healthzone.ca/health/newsfeatures/article/985974–new-moms-pop-placenta-pills

Placenta Pill Makers Turn Afterbirth Into Nutritional Supplement For New Moms, By Michale McLaughlin, Huffington Post, Weird News, December 2, 2011 http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/07/20/placenta-pill-maker-nutritional-supplement_n_886420.html

Placenta Encapsulation – CTV National News, August 7, 2011 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KBfhXMKdREY&feature=youtu.be

The Rise of the Afterbirth Empire: Placenta Eating Gains Traction, Huffington Post, Video, Posted 08/23/11 and updated 10/24/11 http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/08/23/placenta-its-whats-for-dinner_n_934141.html?ir=Parents

Encapsulation Brooklyn – Placenta Eating in NYC, Brooklyn Mamas Netowrk, August 26, 2011 http://brooklyn.mamasnetwork.com/baby/encapsulating-brookyln-placenta-eating-in-nyc/

Placenta’s Hidden Health Benefits. Placenta Stew Anyone? By Mummy Buzz with The Ummy Mummy Club, August 24, 2011 http://www.yummymummyclub.ca/placentas-hidden-health-benefits

Placenta Pills To Beat Baby Blues? Women Say Consuming Placenta Helps in Postpartum Recovery, with ABC 7 News, TheDenverChannel.com, Ana Cabreara, Posted, August 2, 2011, updated August 5, 2011 http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/28738890/detail.html

Hospitals May Ban This… Find Out Why Every Woman Really Needs And Is Entitled To Her Placenta After Birthing, Health and Fitness Magazine, August 2011 Edition.http://issuu.com/healthfitness.us/docs/h_fm_august_2011_lr/26

Would You Eat Your Placenta? Anderson Cooper, Wednesday, September 21, 2011 http://www.andersoncooper.com/2011/09/21/placenta/#c2366

Placenta Pill For Baby Blues, CTV News Calgary, October 25, 2011, http://calgary.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20111025/CGY_placenta_encapsulation_111025/20111025/?hub=CalgaryHome

The concept of a many-branched tree illustrates the idea that all life on earth is related to science, religion, philosophy, mythology and other areas. A tree of life is a mystical concept alluding to the interconnectedness of all life, a metaphor for common descent in the evolutionary sense and a motif in world theologies, mythologies and philosophies.

The tree of life is a powerful, life affirming symbol in almost every culture. With the branches reaching out towards the sky, roots embedded deeply in the earth, it dwells in three worlds: heaven, earth and underworld. It unites above and below. It symbolizes wholesome truth, stability and nobleness. When you are in need of stability and strength, imagine the tree of life.

Nature knows how without even thinking about it. From ‘mother’s milk’ to the ‘tree of life,’ both nourishing the baby inside and out. Can we ever marvel enough at it’s wonders and perfect design?

Disclaimer
The information on this page has not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. The services I offer are not clinical, pharmaceutical, or intended to diagnose or treat any condition. Families who choose to utilize the services on this page take full responsibility for researching and using the remedies.

Lotus Birth II

Posted on 13 August, 2013 by Judith Halek

Lotus Birth: Trend or Risk

This is an interesting article about not cutting the cord after the baby’s birth. This is called, a ‘lotus birth’. When I broach the topic to some people they are disgusted. Others are fascinated and still others ask many questions. Read on and enjoy the information.

LOTUS BIRTHING: TREND OR RISK
BY MONICA ORBE/ MEDILL DEC 03, 2009

Named for the lotus flower, lotus birthing is becoming a trend in home birthing circles where parents opt to keep the baby attached to the placenta.

It raises questions about the practice of cord clamping right after birth and raises eyebrows in the medical community where many doctors contend this birthing practice poses unnecessary risks of infection. Lotus birthing means the baby’s cord is not immediately clamped or cut. The parents and their midwife instead opt to have the placenta remain attached to nourish the baby and let it fall off naturally.

During this period before it does fall off, parents clean, salt and wrap the placenta, usually in a cloth diaper. This option is not offered in hospitals and some hospitals don’t even allow the parents to take the placenta home.

People who have chosen lotus birthing said they believe that the placenta is providing the baby with nutrients and oxygen even after it separates from the uterus.

At the very least, they contend the clamping and cutting of the cord should only be done after the cord stops pulsating.

The immediate clamping and cutting of the cord as soon as the baby is delivered, the standard at hospitals, may deprive the baby of the ability to transition from a liquid-based environment to an oxygen-based environment, according to supporters of delayed clamping.

American obstetrician Dr. George M. Morley is considered a champion of delayed cord clamping. Morley’s argument for the delay is that cutting before the umbilical cord has stopped pulsating could mean that the baby is being deprived of oxygen and nutrients. If a child becomes hypoxic (it lacks oxygen) and ischemic (lacks blood flow), Morley believed the child could be placed at greater risk of brain damage.

The argument for delayed cord clamping is often used as a springboard for those who believe in lotusbirthing, a more extreme version of delayed cord clamping.

Some doctors are becoming more accepting of delayed cord clamping, but they criticize the idea of lotus birthing methods.

High risk obstetrician Dr. Mara Dinsmoor questions the safety of both delayed cord clamping and lotus birthing. “The concerns are that, because there is quite a bit of blood in the placenta, you may end up with a baby whose blood count is too high from doing that,” she said.

She said that too much blood in the baby’s system due to the delayed clamping has been known to cause blood clots and sludging in the baby’s organs, which could result in damage to those organs. She also said that carrying the placenta around could be a “potential infectious risk.”

Dinsmoor also said that she believes lotus birthing may not really be of any use. “Fairly soon after the baby is born those umbilical vessels…basically are obliterated. So you are not getting anything really good from the placenta through those umbilical vessels,” she said.

But, lotus birthing is gaining popularity because women choosing to take more control of their pregnancy are asking questions and turning to the Internet for answers.

Chicago attorney Leonard Hudson and his wife Gayle Hudson, a stay-at-home-mother, said they discovered lotus birthing on a Web site.

Gayle Hudson said she had only one priority: “What is going to give [my baby] the best start in her life? And I thought – the least amount of drugs, the least amount of stress.”

Hudson said her fear of having a birth in an environment where she felt doctors and nurses see birth as surgery, made her choose home birth. After making this decision, her mind turned to more alternative birthing methods and she found and researched lotus birthing.

After about three days of carrying around their baby with the placenta attached, the Hudson’s decided it was time to cut the cord. Gayle Hudson said the placenta had become unwieldy and the couple feared their child would get tangled up in it.

The Hudson’s urge other parents to take control of their birthing experience by educating themselves.

“Part of the organizing principle of our birth plan was the timing of it should be set by Gayle and the child,” letting nature take its course, said Leonard Hudson. ”So having the lotus birth was sort of a continuation of that.”

To see video of LOTUS BIRTHS: THE DEBATE By Monica Orbe with Medill Reports:
http://news.medill.northwestern.edu/chicago/news.aspx?id=151179

Delayed Cord Clamping

Posted on 25 January, 2013 by Judith Halek

I have always believed the delayed cord clamping would be beneficial for the baby as well as the mother. The paper below presents control studies indicating the BENEFITS of delayed cord clamping for the baby. IF you are going to proceed with cord blood storage, you will NEED to cut the cord IMMEDIATELY in order to preserve the precious stem cells into the vial for potential future use. It is ONLY as a result of this preservation that the cord be cut immediately. We have YET to see controlled studies about the benefits for the mother as well. Enjoy!

Academic OB/GYN December 3, 2009 Nicholas Fogelson

Delayed Cord Clamping Should Be Standard Practice in Obstetrics

There are times in our medical careers where we see a shift in thought that leads to a completely different way of doing things. This happened with episiotomy in the last few decades. Most recently trained physicians cannot imagine doing routine episiotomy with every delivery, yet it was not so long ago that this was common practice.

Episiotomy was supported in Medline indexed publications as early as the 1920s(1), and many publications followed in support of this procedure. But by as early as the 1940s, publications began to appear that argued that episiotomy was not such a good thing(2). Over the years the mix of publications changed, now the vast majority of recent publications on episiotomy focus on the problems with the procedure, and lament why older physicians are still doing them (3) (4). And over all this time, practice began to change.

It took a long time for this change to occur, and a lot of data had to accumulate and be absorbed by young inquisitive minds before we got to where we are today, with the majority of recently trained OBs and midwives now reserving episiotomy only for rare indicated situations.

Though this change in episiotomy seems behind us, there are many changes that are ahead of us. One of these changes, I believe, is in the way obstetricians handle the timing of cord clamping.

For the majority of my career, I routinely clamped and cut the umbilical cord as soon as it was reasonable. Occasionally a patient would want me to wait to clamp and cut for some arbitrary amount of time, and I would wait, but in my mind this was just humoring the patient and keeping good relations. After all, I had seen all my attendings and upper level residents clamp and cut right away, so it must be the right thing, right?

Later in my career I was exposed to enough other-thinking minds to consider that maybe this practice was not right. And after some research I found that there was some pretty compelling evidence that indeed, early clamping is harmful for the baby. So much evidence in fact, that I am a bit surprised that as a community, OBs in the US have not developed a culture of delayed routine cord clamping for neonatal benefit.

I think that this is a part of our culture that should change. This evidence is compelling enough that I feel like a real effort should be made in this regard. So to do my part in this, I am blogging about it.

As this is Academic OB/GYN, of course I am going to lay out this evidence I speak of. But before I do that, I want to present some logical ideas under which this evidence ought to be considered.

Prior to the advent of medical delivery, and for all time in animals, it has been the natural way of things for a baby to stay on the umbilical cord for a significant period of time after delivery. Depending on culture and situation, the delay in cord separation could be a few minutes or even a few hours. In some cultures the placenta is left on for days, which of course I find excessive and gross (5). But whatever the culture and time on cord, the absence of immediate cord clamping allows fetal blood that was previously in the placenta to transfuse back into the baby. Studies have demonstrated that a delay of as little as thirty seconds between delivery and cord clamping can result in 20-40 ml*kg-1 of blood entering the fetus from the placenta (6).

Considering this data, I have to think about evolution and function. I am a strong believer in evolution, but even under creationist thinking I have to believe that if the system meant for babies to have been phlebotomized of 50-100 cc of blood at birth, we would have been born with higher hemoglobins. Clearly the natural way of things is for this not to happen.

So does this mean that early cord clamping is necessarily harmful? Absolutely not. But what it means is that the burden of proof is on us to prove that early cord clamping, which amounts to planned fetal phlebotomy, is a beneficial thing. Otherwise, all things being equal we ought to give the tykes a few minutes to soak up what blood they can from the placenta before we cut’em off.

Check out this video by Dr. Stuart Fischbein: Delayed Cord Clamping: http://www.metacafe.com/watch/yt-WWCOzkSe85M/dr_stuart_fischbein_delayed_cord_clamping/

So the question is whether or not there is strong data either way.

It is easy to imagine a randomized study of immediate vs. delayed cord clamping, with quantitative analysis of fetal lab values and clinical outcomes. So easy in fact, that it has been done many times – and in just about every study, there is a clear benefit to delaying cord clamping, even if it is just for 30 seconds after delivery. These benefits include important outcomes such as decreased rates of intraventricular hemorrhage and necrotizing enterocolitis in preterm neonates. Furthermore, aside from some intermittent reports of clinically insignificant polycythemia and hyperbilirubinemia in term infants, there appears to be no harm that can be linked to delayed cord clamping. It feels like being a doctor 10-15 years ago looking to see if there is any data about episiotomy, and finding that there’s a lot, and it says we’ve been doing it wrong for awhile now.

So here’s the data:

Delayed cord clamping in very preterm infants reduces the incidence of intraventricular hemorrhage and late-onset sepsis: a randomized, controlled trial(7)

Randomized 72 VLBW infants (< 1500 grams) to immediate or delayed cord clamping (5-10 vs. 30-45 seconds). Delayed cord clamp infants had significantly less IVH (5/36 in delayed group vs. 13/36 in immediate group, p = 0.03) and less late onset sepsis (1/36 vs. 8/36, p = 0.03).

The Inﬂuence of the Timing of Cord Clamping on Postnatal Cerebral Oxygenation in Preterm Neonates: A Randomized, Controlled Trial (8)

Randomized 39 preterm infants to immediate clamping vs. 60-90 second delay, and examined fetal brain blood flow and tissue oxygenation. Results showed similar blood flow between groups, but increased tissue oxygenation in the delayed group and 4 and 24 hours after birth.

Effect of timing of umbilical cord clamping on iron status in Mexican infants: a randomized controlled trial(9)

Randomized 476 infants to immediate or 2 minute delayed clamping and followed them for 6 months. Delayed clamped babies had higher MCVs (81 vs. 79.5), higher ferritins (50.7 vs. 34.4), and higher total body iron. Effects were greater in infants born to iron deficient mothers. Delayed clamping increased total iron stores by 27-47mg. A follow up study showed that lead exposed infants with delayed clamping also had lower serum lead levels than immediate clamped infants, likely due to iron mediates changes in lead absorption.

A randomized clinical trial comparing immediate versus delayed clamping of the umbilical cord in preterm infants: short-term clinical and laboratory endpoints(10)

Infants delivering at 30 to 36 weeks gestation randomized to immediate vs. 1 minute delay. Delayed group had higher RBC volumes (p = 0.04) and hematocrits (p < 0.005), though there was no difference in RBC transfusions. There was a small increase in babies requiring phototherapy in the delayed group (p = 0.03) but no difference in bilirubin levels between groups.

Immediate versus delayed umbilical cord clamping in premature neonates born < 35 weeks: a prospective, randomized, controlled study (11)

Randomized 60 infants to clamping at 5-10 seconds vs. 30-45 seconds. Delayed clamping infants had higher BPs and hematocrits. Infants < 1500 grams with delayed clamping needed less mechanical ventilation and surfactant. Trend towards more polycythemia in delayed group, but not statistically significant.

And that’s just some of it. I’ll be happy to send you an Endnote file with a pile more of you’d like it. If the burden of proof is on us to prove that immediate clamping is good, that burden is clearly not met. And furthermore, there is strong evidence that delaying clamping as little as 30 seconds has measurable benefits for the infant, especially in premature babies and babies born to iron deficient mothers.

So basically, we should be doing this. I’m going to try to effect some change in my department, but there are a lot of things that need to happen for us to change as a general culture. It can’t just be the OBs. L and D nurses and pediatricians need to buy in as well.

Some people will argue that premature babies need to be brought to the warmer right away for resucitation. I don’t know the answer to this, but it’s worth study. One might think that it is important to intubate a very premature baby right away, but I have to wonder if that intact cord will be better at delivering oxygen to the baby for 30-60 seconds than the premature lungs. Particularly in cases of fetal respiratory acidosis, there is strong logical argument that a baby might be better resuscitated by unwrapping the cord and letting it flow a bit than trying to oxygenate it through its lungs. Until that placenta is detached, you have a natural ECMO system. Why not use it? Certainly there are exceptions to this logical argument, abruption being the biggest one, and perhaps even severe pre-eclampsia and other poor feto-maternal circulation states.

I wonder at times why delayed cord clamping has not become the standard already; why by and large we have not heeded the literature. It is sad to say that I believe it is because the champions of this practice have not been doctors, but midwives, and sometimes we are influenced by prejudice. Clearly, midwives and doctors tend to have some different ideas about how labor should be managed, but in the end data is data. We championed evidence based medicine, but tend to ignore evidence when it comes from the wrong source, which is unfair. It is fair to critique the research and the methods used to write it, but it shouldn’t matter who the author is. In this case, Mercer and other midwives have done the world a favor by scientifically addressing this issue, and their data deserves serious consideration.

To quote Levy et al (12) “Although a tailored approach is required in the case of cord clamping, the balance of available data suggests that delayed cord clamping should be the method of choice.” We ought to heed this advice better. Like episiotomy, this change in practice may take awhile, but we should get it started. I’m going to work on it myself. How about you?

1. Martin DL. The Protection of the Perineum by Episiotomy in Delivery at Term. Cal State J Med 1921 Jun;19(6):229-31.

2. Barrett CW. Errors and evils of episiotomy. Am J Surg 1948 Sep;76(3):284.

3. Rodriguez A, Arenas EA, Osorio AL, Mendez O, Zuleta JJ. Selective vs routine midline episiotomy for the prevention of third- or fourth-degree lacerations in nulliparous women. Am J Obstet Gynecol 2008 Mar;198(3):285 e1-4.

4. Gossett DR, Su RD. Episiotomy practice in a community hospital setting. J Reprod Med 2008 Oct;53(10):803-8.

5. Westfall R. An ethnographic account of lotus birth. Midwifery Today Int Midwife 2003 Summer(66):34-6.

6. Weeks A. Umbilical cord clamping after birth. Bmj 2007 Aug 18;335(7615):312-3.

7. Mercer JS, Vohr BR, McGrath MM, Padbury JF, Wallach M, Oh W. Delayed cord clamping in very preterm infants reduces the incidence of intraventricular hemorrhage and late-onset sepsis: a randomized, controlled trial. Pediatrics 2006 Apr;117(4):1235-42.

8. Baenziger O, Stolkin F, Keel M, von Siebenthal K, Fauchere JC, Das Kundu S, et al. The influence of the timing of cord clamping on postnatal cerebral oxygenation in preterm neonates: a randomized, controlled trial. Pediatrics 2007 Mar;119(3):455-9.