This newborn has an accessory that's gotten a lot of people talking

Mum-of-two, Vanessa Fisher, has a lot of opinions when it comes to childbirth. 

With her first son, Vanessa gave birth in a hospital, but was unimpressed with the treatment she received there. 

"In the birthing classes I had taken, I was told to 'listen to your body,' but in labour I was unable to do so; I felt confined to my hospital bed," she told CafeMom.

"When I was ready to push, I informed my nurse who insisted that I wasn't. I felt uncomfortable and disregarded. But what I learned that day was that the hospital didn't offer me anything that I couldn't provide for myself in another setting."

If you recognise the couple it might be as they made headlines just weeks ago. An incredible video of Vanessa having the baby flipped in utero went viral, leaving the pair in he spot light for their different ideas of childbirth. 

Vanessa opted for a home birth, but afterwards left the newborn attached to the umbilical chord AND placenta. 

In fact, he carries it around in a fashionable, specially-made bag. 

The parents opted for a lotus birth, in which the newborn is left attached to the placenta and umbilical until it naturally falls off. 

"Keeping the placenta and cord attached hasn't been hard," Fisher explained. "It has been a bit more maintenance but well worth it for my child's well being."

The placenta is covered in salt and herbs to mask the smell. Apart from that, the Fishers have taken the placenta maintenance in their stride. 

"Outside of the initial washing, drying, and curing of the placenta, there isn't much maintenance required," Vanessa says. "As for the part of the cord that's attached to the naval, the same care is needed as would be, if it were cut. Swaddling becomes more difficult as it dries because the cord begins to harden. Again, all of these nuisances are very trivial in the larger scheme of things."

Despite many criticisms of lotus births online, Vanessa is unapologetic in her decision. She hopes that this will empower other women to take childbirth decisions into their own hands. 

"Lotus births should be considered by new parents because of the health benefits a baby receives from a complete placental blood transfer," she wrote on Facebook. "It creates a more fluid transition for a newborn baby. It encourages bonding and may result in a more peaceful and serene infant because they avoid a traumatic experience at birth."

Once the chord naturally detaches, the Fishers plan on burying it.

While studies have shown that delaying clamping the chord for between 30 to 60 seconds after birth to be beneficial, there is currently no research proving the benefits of leaving the baby attached for days. 

"Risks centre around a concern for infection in the placenta, which can spread to the baby," Dr. William Schweizer, of New York University Langone Medical Center, told Live Science. "The placenta is dead tissue, and because of this, the blood in it is prone to bacterial overgrowth."

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Members of the family are also sceptical of the lotus birth, including Vanessa's eldest son.

"The placenta is definitely unattractive," she said. "The placenta being attached requires that they be even more careful with the baby. My son decided he wouldn't even hold the baby until the placenta was done away with."

Vanessa, however, is happy that she is doing what's best for her baby: 

"I didn't find anyone's objections valid enough to reconsider my decision. Unorthodox is difficult for people to conceptualize. Whether the cord is cut or not it detaches naturally.

"An old saying, 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it' comes to mind when I think of this. There was absolutely no flaw in the way that God designed any part of the process from conception, to delivery, to breastfeeding- all of it was beautifully orchestrated."