There is a plethora of opinions and research about how to birth, where to birth, and the steps to take after. What we can take from all that research is that there is no one way to give birth.
However, some birthing choices are liable to stir controversy — particularly those that defy modern medical guidelines.
One mom on TikTok is dividing her audience’s opinions with the unique choice she made after giving birth.
TikTok user Alice Llani opted to keep her placenta attached to her newborn baby after giving birth.
Llani, a self-described “free birther” and advocate for “gentle parenting,” has stirred her share of controversies on the video-sharing app over her approach to parenting her toddler son Fern and newborn baby boy Sage.
She previously lost a baby girl after complications during an emergency c-section after getting in a car crash.
Llani has upset viewers with videos criticizing baby formula and c-sections but her latest choice after giving birth has confused rather than outraged her followers.
In a video, Llani showed how she was keeping her son’s placenta in a glass bowl while still attached to the newborn.
“When the fetus was first born, we didn’t do anything besides leave it alone and let the nutrients go to baby,” she says of the placenta.
“After a couple of hours, we washed it with water, dried it and put it in a bowl.”
She explains that she is now adding herbs to preserve the placenta, dry it out and make it smell good.
“Once it has dried out it will go into a cloth bag so it will be completely contained.”
Llani adds that the baby’s umbilical cord will fall off naturally.
Llani followed a method known as ‘lotus birth.’
This is a practice, as outlined in WebMD, in which the placenta stays attached to an infant after birth. The umbilical cord is left to fall away naturally which may take from 5 to 15 days.
More recent images and videos from Llani show that baby Sage is no longer attached to his placenta.
Supporters of the lotus birth method say that not cutting the umbilical cord will lead to the baby having a stronger immune system but studies and scientific evidence around these benefits are lacking.
The placenta, once it is no longer in the womb, is also at risk of infection since it is dead tissue with no blood running through it.
It is advised that anyone who undertakes this process has a clear understanding of the risks.
From the comments, it seems like most are familiar with this method. One user said, “As soon as the baby was born it’s skin color looked so much healthier than the ones I see where they are cut immediately!”
Taylor Haynes is a writer based in Chicago. She writes for Entertainment & News at YourTango. You can find her Instagram here.