An astonishing video was recently shared by a woman which shows a doctor turning a breech baby while it was still in the womb, just by pressing the mother's belly with his hand.
The mother, Vanessa Fisher, reportedly found out that her baby was in breech position with its feet facing the vaginal canal in the 28th week of pregnancy.
The Texas woman was desperate to avoid a c-section and therefore, she and her husband tried to find out natural ways on the Google to move their baby.
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Before going to the doctor to change the position of the baby in the womb, they tried out a number of other ways such as bouncing on a medicine ball and planking. They also played music on headphones near the base of her belly. But, nothing really worked for them.
The last option they had at hand was external cephalic version – turning the baby from outside. At 38 weeks on December 18, they met the doctor who helped them out. They also captured the procedure and shared it on the social media to let people know about it.
"I think that the most reluctance stemmed from the fact that it was unfamiliar," Vanessa told Mirror Online. "I didn't find anyone's objections valid enough to reconsider my decision."
Vanessa added: "Unorthodox is difficult for people to conceptualize, we are so accustomed to the limitations of western medicine, we stick to what we know without much consideration for the alternative."
Almost a month later, she gave birth to a healthy baby boy – Ashton Nathaniel. Since Vanessa was determined to do everything to have a natural childbirth, she also joined the trend of 'lotus births' by leaving the umbilical cord uncut until it fell off on its own.
"I found that there were mothers who left the cord attached for several minutes or hours after birth to allow for the placenta to stop pulsating," she told CafeMom. "This would ensure that there was time for a full placental blood transfer to the baby. Taking that idea a step further was the lotus birth."
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Vanessa added: "The idea really resonated with me because I was already set on embracing a very natural approach to this pregnancy, and cutting out any unnecessary medical interference was important to me."
After five days, the placenta broke 'like a twig' and according to Vanessa, they took special care to prevent any contact with potential contaminants.
Advocates of the lotus birthing method believe that the process allows baby to obtain all the nutrients the placenta has to offer before it dries up. In the process, after the baby and the placenta are delivered, a pouch is placed in a container and is carried around with the infant.
The cord remains attached to the newborn until it naturally falls off – a process that may take up to 10 days.
Though this method has been considered as a 'natural' option by some, doctors warn against the postpartum fad. They claim that it can lead to an infection. In fact, even when the trend initially hit the headlines in 2008, medical experts had warned against it.
