Hello!

I joined this site because J ™ contacted the birthing center where I apprentice. She wanted to know about the cord burning and I thought I would let everyone about it. I don't know if this is the appropriate place to post the info but here it goes.

Anita, the midwife I work with, learned the cord-burning technique from a Canadian midwife. Maybe talking to these midwives (as she thinks it's pretty common there) might give more information but here is the history she was told. They had a twin birth and one of the twins was lethargic and not looking very good, not as pink as it should be, etc. The midwife said that one of the reasons they burn the cord is because the heat goes to the baby and regulates the chi of the baby. The midwife told Anita this and then they burned the cord, and sure enough, the baby perked right up and was doing much better right away.

For those wondering the technique, here is what we do. We first use cord string, 2 pieces, tied about 2 inches away from the baby's belly. We wrap the string around super tight once and knot it, wrap again and knot it, and again and knot it. Then we reinforce it in the same way with a second string. After it's tied off, we burn the cord with a candle, with a bowl underneath to catch the wax. It smells kind of funny but is a really nice ritual and seems like a more slow transition for the baby to be separated from the placenta. The cord shrivels up as normal and falls off fine. When you need to examine the cord to look for the veins and vessels, you have to cut off the burned end to look at the inside.

Hope this helps and let me know if you have any questions!

It's nice to see this website up as students need so much support.

Thanks, Cortney

Hey Cortney

Great to see you here!! Im so glad you took up my offer of havig a look round the site and sharing your knowledge of cord burning.......it was a real surprise to lots of us on here when mama sundrop told me about it!

Firstly, hello and welcome to the site

Does this procedure have it origins in religion or culture? or is a 'new' way of practicing - seems to go hand in hand with gentle birth techniques.

How popular is it with the women?

How long does it take to burn through?

Do you get the dads to assist you like many of us do here with cutting the cord?

Look at me all excited and rambling! LOL Im just really pleased to have made contact so I can pick your brain!

Thanks for posting

__________________
J
StudentMidwife.NET Founder & Director

"You're braver than you believe. Stronger than you seem. And smarter than you think."
Christopher Robin in Pooh's Grand Adventure

Please help us raise funds for a bereavement room in Honey's memory by taking part in the SMNET Auction & Raffle here thanks x

Well, like I said I really don't know about its origin but I would guess it is more cultural than religious. My knowledge of it is simply through the passing down of stories and women's wisdom, much like midwifery practices. So maybe we could just say it has its origin in women's culture!

It is fairly popular. I would say 25-40 percent of women choose this method. Sometimes, I think it is hard to take the time for this for some women after an exhausting birth but most love it when partaking.

I would say it takes 5-10 minutes for the cord to burn and usually the father participates. Most the time the midwife will hold either side of the cord and the father will burn in between or visa versa.

Sorry it took so long to respond. I've been super busy, as I'm sure most of you are, too.

Good luck! Cortney

Thanks for your time Cortney, we appreciate you taking the time to answer the questions

__________________
J
StudentMidwife.NET Founder & Director

"You're braver than you believe. Stronger than you seem. And smarter than you think."
Christopher Robin in Pooh's Grand Adventure

Please help us raise funds for a bereavement room in Honey's memory by taking part in the SMNET Auction & Raffle here thanks x