The claws of the Florida stone crab are harvested for eating and the crabs grow new ones.
Talking about afterbirth. I’ve never seen a baby romcom a la Nine Months mention anything about the afterbirth.
What would happen if the cord is not cut?
Nice description. It’s worth saying that there really isn’t a ‘mommy end’ as such, both ends of the cord are attached to the babies’ tissue.
Kanicbird, I don’t know the answer to your question, but I do know dogs and cats chew off the cords as they deliver, so I suspect an infant without anybody do do that wouldn’t survive for any number of reasons. If there’s been an experiment to see what happens if a newborn mammal is kept warm, oxygenated and fed without cutting the cord I’ve never heard of it.
I know I’ll burn in hell for this, but I’ve been known to refer to excesively new age, Woo Woo, ‘I want crystals representing the 4 corners of the universe in my room’ (usually first timers), as Cord Biters.
Ignorance fought, thanks Renee. Actually, the reference to reduced infection risk makes a certain amount of sense.
Not for everyone. My wife, who has a graduate degree in reproductive physiology, asked to see hers and thought it very cool. She also spent a lot of time in grad school during hysterectomies on rats.
As a guy, I’m probably not allowed to say this, but… yuck.
Why do they have to keep it in a bowl? Couldn’t they at least cover it with a tea towel? How about one of those little Tibetan prayer flags? That’s still be pretty hippie-ish, right?
This may be odd, but I have never birthed a baby and would LOVE to see a video like the one described above. The miracle of birth is facinating, if not a tad bit gross. Since I can’t go back to the 7th grade, any suggestions?
From a strictly biological perspective, organism Fetus consists of two (or three) parts: Baby, suspended in amniotic sac, connected by umbilical cord to Placenta. The placenta is an exclusively fetal organ which has a rich supply of blood vessels which interface (but don’t connect directly) with the mother’s blood vessels lining the uterine wall. The umbilical cord is connected to the mother only in the sense that its distal terminus (from the fetus) is on the placenta, which is firmly attached to the interior wall of the mother’s uterus through pregnancy; it doesn’t directly connect to her at all.
Ruby, I’m not sure if this is the same video I watched in high school (which, if I recall, was called The Miracle of Life), but it seems to have the same elements, anyway. And the end is really gross.
Youtube. A good one is this one. There are a lot of youtube birth videos, and I also recommend that you check out pregnancy/baby internet sites, as they have these sorts of videos, and more, available as well.
I can see the practical value of Lotus Birth in traditional unhygienic conditions when infection to mother or baby was the greatest birth killer. Te umbilicus will shrivel up in its own good time anyway, though most animals bite through it and even herbivores usually eat the placenta. Sounds gross to us, but so do a lot of things that were commonplace even 100 years ago or less and in some parts of the world maybe still are.
There are advantages to eating the placenta in the wild.
First, the hormones in the placenta stimulate milk production.
Second, you need to clean up after yourself so that predators don’t smell all that blood and try to get a meal out of you and your young.
Aargh. I had never heard of Lotus Birth. I learned something new today. Thanks. I guess.
OP, I am with you…it’s a weird thought, to think of a baby coming out of oneself.
The hormones also stimulate the uterus to contract, stemming post-partum hemorrhage. Eating placenta has saved many mothers’ lives.
I try not to go down this route, but this really needs a citation. I would love to know where this information is backed up.
They also check to see that the placenta is intact. Ideally, it will come out in one piece. If it has any tears or missing pieces, then that means there may be tears in the uterus or pieces still attached. Either condition is very bad for the mother.
They came at me with a big needle - trying to jab me in the thigh - some shot to deliver the afterbirth quickly. Despite being in the euphoria of having just given birth - NOBODY comes at me with sharp objects so I grabbed the nurses wrist and twisted. Ooops! Poor nurse and poor me - kind of killed the moment. They had earlier explained that this was normal procedure but I’d forgotten.
I only have one thing to say. Wow. I’m almost 50 years old and have never seen anything like that. Of course I knew the mechanics but actually seeing it was amazing. Thanks for the links!