It remains unclear if a mother and newborn really died during a home childbirth as rumored on Facebook

The Ministry of Health is still verifying Facebook rumors that a Ho Chi Minh City woman and her newborn baby died following a ‘natural childbirth’ – a labor method where the umbilical cord is kept uncut after delivery, an official said Thursday.

News of the tragedy was first posted to Facebook on Wednesday afternoon by a woman claiming to be a friend of the deceased mother. She said the mother and child “died pitifully” during a “lotus birth” at home.

The mother was reportedly a resident in Thao Dien Ward in District 2.

Lotus birth, also known as umbilical nonseverance, is the practice of leaving the umbilical cord uncut after childbirth so that the baby is left attached to the placenta until the cord naturally separates at the umbilicus, usually three to ten days after birth.

As no studies have been done on lotus birth, no evidence exists to support any medical benefits of the birthing method.

As the rumor spread over social media, the health ministry held a press meeting on the case in Ho Chi Minh City on Thursday to give the public some clarification.

Nguyen Duc Vinh, head of the ministry’s mother and child health department, told reporters at the briefing that the case remains unverified.

“Relevant agencies are still working to clarify the information in the Facebook post,” he said.

The statement contradicted what Vinh told the media late Wednesday, when he confirmed the fatal childbirth, elaborating that the woman lost her life from over-exhaustion and the child suffered from suffocation during the labor.

According to Vinh’s then account, the deceased mother had spent VND15 million (US$660) attending a course on lotus birth and decided to deliver at home to put her newly-learnt knowledge to the test.

Nguyen Manh Cuong, deputy head of the inspectorate of the Ho Chi Minh City, told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper on the same morning that they had received no report of such a fatal childbirth in Thao Dien as rumored online.

Tran Phuong Nam, deputy chairman of Thao Dien Ward, also said no such case was recorded in his locality.

Lotus births are typically performed for spiritual purposes, including for the perceived spiritual connection between the placenta and a newborn, according to a 2014 paper on The Journal of Perinatal Education.

Earlier this month, a mother also posted on her Facebook a photo showing a newborn with her umbilical cord uncut, lying next to a basin where her placenta was being stored.

The mother claimed to have delivered at home and neither cut the umbilical cord nor had the newborn vaccinated, as a means of “following the nature.”

The health ministry has since released a warning against the scientifically unverified method.

“Delivering without the assistance of a medical worker is extremely dangerous and poses imminent risks for both the mother and child, particularly the high possibility of fatal hemorrhage,” according to the warning.

Despite this, courses on lotus birth continue to be opened and well-attended in Vietnam.