It is believed in Ayurvedic medicine that if a baby is born appearing lifeless, the placenta can be warmed to restore life in the child. The practice of warming an attached (unclamped and uncut) placenta in hot water or by massage is thought
to restore the jeeva, or life force, that is stored in the placenta. Babies should remain attached to the placenta as long as possible to allow the life force to flow into the newborn. This practice has been used for centuries in
India, Bangladesh, and Burma.
Robin Lim, midwife at the Bumi Sehat Birth Center in Indonesia, recalls her experience with this method when a baby’s heart rate soared during birth, then stopped;
“We immediately began performing CPR while administering oxygen, to no avail. There was no sign of life, yet death did not feel close. Thirteen minutes later, when the placenta was born, I asked the nurse to quickly bring me a bowl of hot water. We placed the placenta, still connected by its cord to the baby, into warm water, the baby’s grandfather added Tirtha, holy water from the family temple, and, instantly, the baby shuddered and took a breath. The baby is perfectly healthy and his name is Tirtha.”
Source: Placenta: The Forgotten Chakra
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