well, here is one country where the lotus birth is practiced - the united
states. not overly common, of course, but not unheard of, either.

a lovely book with lovely illustrations, "children of the dawn" includes a
description of the lotus birth.

"with the lotus birth, we have the opportunity to focus our attentioin on the
placenta in a new way. in the lotus birth, the umbilical cord is left uncut
and allowed to atrophy and fall away on its own. in a sense, the lotus birth
is an over-compensation for insensitive birthing practices. it is a reaction
to the routine and systematic denial of bonding which has been the standard
birth protocol for so many years. it is a physical way to protect the bonding
process. by not immediately cutting the cord, the Divine connection between
mother and child is protected.

in some rural and tribal settings, such a practice may be physically
unfeasible or offensive to tradition. the length of the mother's labor may
also be a factor in deciding how to treat the placenta. she may need to eat
the placenta for her own strength and well-being, (from exhaustion or after
excessive blood loss, for example)."

then there is some more specific care information from a proponent. to echo
what tracy said about eating some of the placenta, i have heard and read
before (who recalls where) that this is a common practice.

carol brussel IBCLC

ps this book goes on to say some very lovely things about breastfeeding, for
instance: "the most important ingredient of mother's milk is Love."