Are you allowed to keep the placenta after birth?
Posted by SnowQueen690 on May 29, 2008 · Member since Jun 2005 · 1569 posts
I was reading about the placenta on the internet and reading about some cultures and what they do with their babies placenta's. One tradition has the placenta burried in a really deep hole, then a tree planted on top of it. I love trees anyway, and it seems that planting a tree is a great way to celebrate new life.
Can you take home the placenta? I think I would like to plant a tree with it.
It technically belongs to you. I had my youngest baby at home, so I kept the placenta. However, my MIL had it buried with a tree before I could blink!
OMG, what you come up with when you Google things. I just typed in the word Placenta because I wanted know how the placenta worked.
I couldn't believe there there are actually recipies for cooking and eating placenta! Morbid curiosity and disbelief made me click on that link. Sure enough, it is real. I thought it was a joke at first, but then reading though it I saw it was real! DISGUSTING! No way, no me, not doing that. I understand their reasoning, replaces nutrients lost during childbirth, but I think I would rather do that with a cup of black bean soup! Ewwwww.
Could that be considered vegetarian? I mean, no animals have to die for that flesh. But ewwwww, seriously though.
I know cats and dogs eat theirs for sure. But as far as herbavor animals I have no idea. Somehow I can't see a horse eating it's placenta, but I have never watched a herbavor animal give birth. I have only seen dogs give birth and I know they eat the placenta, they swallow it so fast you hardly have time to see it at all.
I see humans as pimarily herbavor animals, so I doubt we are meant to eat ours. I don't think chimps eat theirs and they are our closest relatives. Do chimps eat it?
Do herbavores eat their placentas? Horses, cows, and such? Has anybody ever watched a horse or cow or something like that give birth?
I know cats and dogs eat theirs for sure. But as far as herbavor animals I have no idea. Somehow I can't see a horse eating it's placenta, but I have never watched a herbavor animal give birth. I have only seen dogs give birth and I know they eat the placenta, they swallow it so fast you hardly have time to see it at all.
I see humans as pimarily herbavor animals, so I doubt we are meant to eat ours. I don't think chimps eat theirs and they are our closest relatives. Do chimps eat it?
Do herbavores eat their placentas? Horses, cows, and such? Has anybody ever watched a horse or cow or something like that give birth?
If allowed to do so, yes, they do. In the wild, certainly. It's part of the cleanup of the birthplace so no predators smell out the weak calf and the tired mama. And I have read that the Inuit used to. Whether or not that one is true, I don't know.
I know cats and dogs eat theirs for sure. But as far as herbavor animals I have no idea. Somehow I can't see a horse eating it's placenta, but I have never watched a herbavor animal give birth. I have only seen dogs give birth and I know they eat the placenta, they swallow it so fast you hardly have time to see it at all.
I see humans as pimarily herbavor animals, so I doubt we are meant to eat ours. I don't think chimps eat theirs and they are our closest relatives. Do chimps eat it?
Do herbavores eat their placentas? Horses, cows, and such? Has anybody ever watched a horse or cow or something like that give birth?
I was at a college farm once and watched a calf being born. The man who helped with the delivery removed the placenta with a pitch fork because he didn't want the mother cow to eat it.
In the wild or outdoors, a placenta means there is a baby animal around. They eat it so the prey animals don't come looking for their babies.
We raised goats when I was a child, and the mommy goats would chow down on their placentas. I remember I watching some show on BBC last year... I don't remember what the show was about really, but I remember a veggie couple was talking about the both of them eating the placenta for dinner after their child was born. They were ok with eating the stuff because animals have nothing to do with it. The husband said it was the first meaty thing he has eaten in years.
My awesome Aunt Debbie ate part of hers. It's incredibly rich in vitamins and nutrients. I don't think I would, or could actually. But planting a tree w/ it sounds lovely.
I think eating it would be considered vegan. Its would be consentual and no one had to die or be forced into anything.
Not that I plan on doing this, just my 2 cents if someone wanted to.
I like the idea of planting it with a tree with it. How would I cart it home?
I think eating it would be considered vegan. Its would be consentual and no one had to die or be forced into anything.
Not that I plan on doing this, just my 2 cents if someone wanted to.
I like the idea of planting it with a tree with it. How would I cart it home?
they'll probably just stick it in a red biohazard bag, then you can put it in a regular bag, so people don't look at you funny when you're getting wheeled out of the hospital. I know that you can freeze them for awhile too, if you aren't ready to plant it yet.
Wow, this is turning into a very interesting thread. I had no idea herbavors ate their placenta, but it makes sense, get rid of the smell to keep predators away. I remember seeing a pregnant horse one time by the bus stop when I was in high school. I kept an eye on her because I wanted to see her give birth. She was huge for the longest time, and nobody was around helping her, and one morning I saw a foal, I had missed it, I was disappointed, but I loved the cute little foal. That was the closest I ever came to seeing a herbavore give birth. No humans ever was there as far as I remember. She was on her own, always alone, but looked well taken care of, but I never saw anybody around.
I had all of my kids at home. I didn't keep the placentas(we were renting and couldn't plant trees...and eating it just didn't appeal to me, so my midwife took it...)
It was really cool to look at though. It seems really huge, or at least I thought it did!
Also, animals eating the placenta has multiple benefits. The placenta contains large amounts of hormones that cause the uterus to "shrink" and prevent blood loss.
I think some midwives also make "placenta pills" that have dried placenta in capsules that are supposed to give the same benefits as eating it like a steak. Not sure if you could take placenta pills from someone else's placenta, but maybe that's what your midwife did with yours VeganSapien?
I randomly started reading about placentas one day a while ago and came across the recipes, too--pizza, lasagna, yum yum ;)b I really don't think I could eat it, but I'm not really that grossed about by people who do. Or at least not any more grossed out than I am by people eating meat.
I think some midwives also make "placenta pills" that have dried placenta in capsules that are supposed to give the same benefits as eating it like a steak. Not sure if you could take placenta pills from someone else's placenta, but maybe that's what your midwife did with yours VeganSapien?
Wow, that is crazy! :D Placenta pills..that is kinda freaky...seriously, think about someone else eating a part of your body...
My midwife had 9 kids and never ate any of hers(placentas, that is ;)) so I'm fairly certain she just "disposed" of it for me...but who knows. Now I really wished I would of kept them and at least buried them outside somewhere. But honestly, when you have a newborn, the last thing you will be thinking about is the placenta.
I've heard of the placenta pills on this site before. I didn't look it up though. I think I could do placenta pills, but I don't think I could eat it outright. I don't know. "Social acceptability" is definitely ingrained in us from a young age. As we grow and develop our own minds, sometimes we choose to defy those "social norms" based on our own principles and beliefs. I think that eating placenta falls in the category of one of those things that we are "socially" conditioned to think is gross. Now, I like to think that I have given the finger to many "social norms," but I just don't think I could eat my placenta.
All about placenta gel caps though! ;)b
When my dogs were still alive, they would eat the sheeps placenta after they gave birth to their lambs.
it was gross, but it's in their nature. My dogs also loved to eat sheep poop! yucky yucky!
There is also a placenta deep conditioning mask for the hair on the market. I've used that a few times, but didn't notice a difference using that vs. V05 hot oil treatment. Hmm. Don't know if I could ever eat it though. I hope you're able to take it home. I'd call the hospital and ask ahead of time so if you're told, "No," you have time to argue. :)
I think you can also donate it or have it frozen in case your child ever has any diseases that could be treated with the placenta...if you donate it then it can save somebody else's life...or is that just the umbilical cord?
I think you can also donate it or have it frozen in case your child ever has any diseases that could be treated with the placenta...if you donate it then it can save somebody else's life...or is that just the umbilical cord?
i think that's just cord blood