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| 31 weeks + 4days .... Almost 8 months along! Dress from Harrods by T-Bags Los Angeles, 24" clip in extensions by www.MilaniHair.com |
Ok, so Im just going to go there!
Despite what I'm sure many may have thought, I actually want to go as natural as I can for the birth of my son. I'm sure people assumed Id be one of those girls who goes in for a scheduled C-section and then gets a tummy tuck right after. The truth is however, my maternal instincts are pulling me towards a Water Birth/ Natural Birth, Delayed Cord Clamping and having my placenta encapsulated in the Raw form after I give birth as well as drinking a placenta smoothie asap after I have delivered... !
"WTF" is probably what you're thinking, but read on to see why and what its all about.
** While I do want to try and deliver my child without the interference of drugs, I would like to say that I still feel more comfortable delivering in a hospital rather than a home birth; I feel its safer in case of emergency and gives me peace of mind. But, I want to make my hospital delivery as natural, peaceful and drug free as I can however I am keeping an open mind to other options incase of emergency or things not going as planned.
Lets first start off talking about Delayed Cord Clamping-
"The benefits of delaying umbilical cord clamping and leaving the cord attached to your baby until it is completely drained of nutrient rich blood are now becoming known again. It usually takes 5-60 minutes for the cord to stop pulsing; until then the cord should not be clamped or cut unless there is an emergency. During the pulsing stage, the placenta is still providing your baby with up to 150ml of iron and oxygen rich blood that is plentiful in important post-birth hormones, stem cells and T cells and other vitamins, minerals and nutrients. Placental hormones are known to help facilitate the mother/baby bonding process in the weeks after birth. Delaying in cord clamping has also been scientifically linked to higher iron levels in infants at 6 months of age. "
I dont see myself waiting 1 hour after the birth to cut the cord- but I would like to wait as long as I can and refrain from clamping and cutting the cord right away to benefit my baby. (5-10 minutes)
I spoke to my Dr about it and asked him about the benefits and if there were any negatives to doing this. He mentioned that the baby can get Jaundice- which is a yellow color of the skin, mucus membranes, or eyes but nothing is proven. For me- the benefits outweigh the negatives so I asked if I could just delay the clamping a bit and he said "as long as there are no complications and so on- of course". So this is what I am planning to do first and foremost.
Watch this video to learn more- I found it very interesting.
Water Birth/ Natural Birth-
So many of you have told me in comments and on my social media pages to watch the movie "The Business of Being Born" which I rented on itunes and watched. I was so inspired by the water birth and being able to walk around and move freely and listening to my body during labor that Im strongly considering having a water birthing pool as an option in my room at the hospital.. I LOVE love love the idea of a home water birth but here in London where I will be having the baby, the traffic, distance and the fear of a possible emergency / what if moment makes me feel more comfortable for my first time especially, giving birth in a hospital. I want to use my Dr vs switching now to a birthing center so I am going to ask if I can arrange to have natural birthing tools such as a birthing ball, mats, a birthing stool and a birthing pool in my private room. I dont know if a birthing pool will fit in the delivery room, but the room does have a bath and shower and huge bathroom so I could use that to labor in but I am going to try to labor home in my own bath for as long as I can before heading to the hospital. All of the other tools I know they have access to and wont be a problem bringing to the room.
*Update*- Unfortunately there is no room in the birthing rooms and my Dr told me he has never done a water birth, which was fine with me as I really just wanted to be able to relax in the warm water and be able to move freely in my room while Im laboring and possibly even give birth in a "non traditional" position if thats what I feel my body wants to do- i.e.: squatting, standing, whatever feels right. They do have birthing balls there which I was happy to see and all the midwives who work in the birthing area were so nice and understood my want to go as natural as possible, they made me feel really comfortable and at home.
Placenta Encapsulation- The RAW way!
I have been thinking about having my placenta encapsulated since the day I found out I was pregnant. I don't remember where or how I heard about it- I think possibly a friend joking about placenta smoothies but I became completely fascinated by the idea. Ive been doing research and reading up about it and found there to be so many benefits. It sounds disgusting and all of my friends who I told I may do this FREAKED out telling me I was crazy, BUT, for some reason I really want to do this. I then found the UK site call IPEN ( IPEN is a UK based International Network of placenta encapsulation experts dedicated to 'new mother' health and support), watched a few videos and decided this was for me. I asked my Dr if any of his patients have done this and he said one lady from another country took the placenta home, cooked it and ate it. To me, cooking the placenta would defeat the purpose, kind of like the raw food diet theory, once its cooked over a certain degree it starts to kill off all of the nutrients, hormones and vitamins- so whats the point. I am going to have my placenta prepared like a Raw food restaurant would "cook" food- by dehydrating it. Its then turned into a powder and put into capsules that can be consumed. This definitely isn't for everyone, but I guess Im a lot more "au naturel" than many would have thought.
After going on the IPEN website I contacted a few placenta encapsulation specialist and chose one that felt right to me.
How Much Does It All Cost and how does it all work?-
The lady Im using will be preparing my placenta at my own home. Most do it at their own houses and then hand deliver the pills to you, but I just feel more comfortable having it done in my own home for an additional cost.
-How its prepared- " it takes aprox. 1 hour to prepare the placenta before dehydrating and once it is in the dehydrator it needs to be there for aprox. 16 -20 hours, after that it takes another couple of hours maximum to encapsulate, depending on the size of the Placenta."
-How much does it cost- "my usual fee of 150pounds for the dehydrating process but would ask for the delivery by hand fee which is 55pounds on top of that" - which works out to be about $307.50 but each person has a different rate.
To read more about the benefits of Placenta Encapsulation and answers to some FAQ please click the link -----> http://placentanetwork.com/placenta-encapsulation/raw-placenta-capsules/
Placenta Smoothie-
In the last couple of weeks I started to think, well maybe I want to have a placenta smoothie as well- dont ask why. So I looked up what it was all about and asked my Placenta Encapsulation lady about it.
"The raw placenta is known for its high contents of stem cells and growth factors which together heal damaged tissue and organs at a very incredible rate. Consuming the placenta raw is the most natural and benefitial way to benefit from your placenta after birth."
Benefits of Raw placenta smoothie:
- Helps stop post partum haemorrhaging and trigger the body to quickly heal internal wounds
- Significantly reduces blood loss
- Gives the body an immediate supply of essential vitamins and nutrients
- Provides the body with an immediate boost of hormones to begin healing the body after birth
- Gives the mother an immediate feeling of strength and balance
- Most mothers who have the smoothie report milk ‘comes in’ at day 2 post-partum rather than3-4 days post-partum
- Eases the hormonal transition to post-partum and helps prevent the ‘baby blues’ around thetime when milk engorges the breasts
What my lady had to say about it- "We can prepare the smoothie for you in the hospital, at home or I can prepare it at home and bring it to you, for this we will need some berries, honey and a throw away blender. The smoothie is best to have as soon as possible but within 12-16 hours is ok too. I havn't tasted one but everyone says the smoothies are yummy and taste a little earthy. Its good to remember that I only put in about a 50 pence (silver dollar ) piece size of placenta in and then you have lots of berries and banana,honey etc which is also just what you need at that point."
Doesn't sound so bad... Think Ill go ahead and try this and blog about it after :) Wish me luck.
To read more about Placenta Smoothies click the link ---> http://placentanetwork.com/placenta-smoothies/
This article was released on the LasVegasSun.com about placenta eating moms.
Click the link to read about it-
A few other things I have added to my birth plan.
-After the baby is born (providing its done vaginally) I dont want the baby cleaned up or his umbilical cord clamped- I want him placed on my chest right away where I will wait a bit to A. Bond and B. wait for the cord to stop pulsing as much/ drain out naturally. I have read that its best for the Dr's not to wipe the baby down right away because that is his protective layer and assists in his natural instinct to breastfeed.
-Id like for the baby to stay in my room at all times
-I want to avoid a C-section unless an emergency
-Id like to avoid any induction drugs
-I wish to breastfeed exclusively (for 1 year is my plan)
-I only want my husband and I in the room for the birth of our first child together.
-We do plan on circumcising our son
-I may or may not bank whats left of his cord blood and stem cells.
I hope you get inspired and do your research. There is no right or wrong when it comes to these kinds of decision, just follow your heart and do what feels right for you.
Please share your stories in the comments below. Id love to hear about your experiences.
xoxo
Jennifer
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| The gift of Life <3 |
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