Janet Balaskas, founder of the Active Birth Centre answers your questions. She talks about the fourth stage of labour and how to have a natural empowered birth
Q I have heard various ideas about birthing the placenta and leaving the cord intact. Please can you tell me more about the fourth stage of labour?
A Mother nature gives each baby an incredible gift for future health with the rich placental transfusion immediately after birth. The placenta contains about 1/3 of the baby’s blood volume and is rich in iron and oxygen, stem cells, T cells, immune factors, Vitamin K and more… it’s like an incredible “packed lunch” for the baby to take forward into the future.
So don’t be in a hurry to clamp or cut the cord until it finishes pulsating and maybe even longer. I recommend waiting until the placenta is born and having some time with baby and cord intact after that, while the baby self-attaches to the breast.
The first hour after birth
Just lie back comfortably in a very warm room after the birth and place your baby “skin to skin” on your body and he or she will know how to find the breast. You can stay like that for as long as you want, ideally for the first hour after giving birth.
Or if you want to go all the way you can even leave the cord to sever naturally which it will do in a few days (this is called lotus birth). Meanwhile you can wrap the placenta and keep it close to the baby. There is also the option to have the placenta encapsulated after the birth and take in the remaining nutrients yourself as other mammals do (placentanetwork.com).
The UK Resuscitation Council now recommends a delay of at least one minute before the cord is clamped to allow some of this precious transfusion to reach the baby - even when birth has been induced.
So if you give birth naturally, why not let nature give this precious gift to your baby - all of it - you will see when the cord is no longer pulsing – it’s obvious and even then there is no hurry. This is mother/baby love – the prototype for all love relationships of a lifetime and at these moments when mother and baby are transfused in the “love” hormones of birth – oxytocin and endorphins – we need to do nothing to disturb or disrupt this precious time.
This is the most powerful way to ensure physical and emotional health in the future and it is every baby’s birthright. Remember birth is not over until the placenta is out, the baby is suckling at the breast and the cord is no longer pulsing.
More Inspiration
DISCOVER To find out more about Janet’s classes and courses go to activebirthcentre.com.
READ New Active Birth: A Concise Guide to Natural Childbirth by Janet Balaskas
Having a natural empowered birth
- Do whatever you can to say YES to birthing your baby.
- Tune in and connect to your baby and your self.
- Listen to your body. Listen to your emotions and internal needs.
- Is there anything you need to release? What are you anxious about? Is there anyone you need to ask to leave? Nothing is silly, even the smallest of things is greatly important if it is interfering with your birth.
- Follow your instincts – they might be entirely different to what you think.
- Surrender and hand birthing over to your baby and your body – no need to overthink it!
- Stay present with yourself and your baby, avoid unnecessary conversation.
- Do whatever you want to be at ease.
- Ask those present to be as quiet as possible.
- Create dark sacred space if you can – our bodies prefer dark, warm, quiet spaces to give birth.
