Placenta Traditions: Cord Burning Ritual

There are many different ways to slow down and honor your placenta after the birth of your baby. While about 1 in 5 of my clients choose to consume their placenta, others are looking for a way to honor the placenta without consuming it. For families looking for a cord severing ritual, burning the cord could be a good option.

Burning the cord requires that everyone slow down and bring some mindfulness to the moment. In addition, typically two or more candles are used to sever the cord so the ritual easily involves other family members. Special candles can be chosen in a meaningful color: red for strength and security, green for luck and vitality, blue for peace, etc. Some may even choose to sing or say a poem during the ritual to add another element of sacredness.

How To

Burning the umbilical cord involves gathering two or more long candles as well as a metal plate or special bowl and a heat guard (cardboard, aluminum foil) to protect the baby.

Supplies Needed:

• Two or more long candles

• Lighter or matches

• Heat guard, such as cardboard wrapped in aluminum foil

• A plate or bowl to catch the wax

Typically, burning of the placenta may take 10-15 minutes or more and might involve pops or hisses as the gasses from the umbilical cord are released. It may smell a bit like barbecue which it also very normal.

The beauty of burning the cord is that it fully cauterizes the stump of the umbilical cord, so that no clamp is needed. Throughout the ritual, someone should be in charge of checking the baby's side of the umbilical cord to ensure it is not too hot.

This tradition offers a slowness that is rarely sought after in Western culture, acknowledging the placenta as the child’s sole companion during gestation and their most familiar playmate and counterpart. Leaving the placenta alone during the initial bonding moments feels like right order at every birth and cord burning takes it one step further. 

Note that this option is only available if you are planning a home birth or keeping your placenta intact until you get home: live fire is not allowed in hospitals or birth centers.

To learn more about placenta rituals, including cord burning, check out Robin Lim's book Placenta: The Forgotten Chakra: