Agent in the Dark

"Oh baby girl its okay! Mama loves you! It's alright!" Asia said soothingly to the little life in her arms. "Oh God thank you for our baby girl!"

The little girl quieted down some with the contact and smell of her mama's skin and together we stared and felt at our perfect little creation of wonder.

"Are you hungry honey? Momma's got lots of milk for you. Wanna try some? Oh that's good isn't it!"

Staring over Asia's shoulder I couldn't get over the bond that I already saw between mother and daughter, as they watched each other. The tiny articulate little fingers were just too much to resist and I reached a finger out. My heart stopped, as she grabbed a hold of my finger, with a surprisingly strong grip. Talk about a bond!

Asia's face turned up to mine, her face was absolutely radiant, "Look what we made honey!"

We kissed then and little baby Elisha started squawking, sounding disgruntled at the lack of attention paid to her. Asia didn't stop the kiss though, but ended it when it was time to, before turning back to her unhappy little girl.

"Daddy had mommy first. You're just going to have to get used to that little Elisha."

Elisha didn't look convinced and we both chuckled at the look she was giving us. Idly, I let my fingers feel the still attached umbilical cord. The rubbery cord pulsed steadily between my fingers. When Asia and I had decided to have the birth on the island unassisted we had poured over everything we could find on how to have childbirth naturally.

One thing that had shocked me about modern medical practices was the absolute insistence on severing the umbilical cord immediately upon birth of the child, as if it was a crucial medical necessity. It was far from it actually. In fact it was one of the worst things you could ever do to a newborn baby.

Up to half of the baby's blood supply could still be in the cord and placenta after delivery. Severing the cord immediately created a crisis within the baby to create new blood to replace that which was lost that need never have occurred. Cord blood wasn't just any ordinary blood either. The loss of the beneficial properties in the cord blood could affect a child negatively into adulthood.

When the umbilical cord quit pulsing it was time to sever it and not before. It could take up to 40 minutes or more for it to stop pulsing during which time the baby was still getting oxygen and nutrition from the mother through the cord to help it recover from the stress of birth, not to mention the health benefit of having its full supply of blood to start out life on the outside with. It was also the best thing for the mother to leave the cord attached, as it helped the placenta to fully detach naturally, with less chance of hemorrhaging.