Taboo Question about Placenta

[seattlemom2plus]

I know I am going to make someone cringe for even asking this, but is there anyone on here that has ever kept their placenta after birth?  I know some women that keep it and plant a tree and bury the placenta with the tree.  In Hawaii it is customary to burn the placenta/cord and return it to the ground.  Some women even have it dried and encapsulated so that they can use it as supplementation afterbirth or during menopause.  All of which I think is a great idea.  I have always wanted to keep my placenta, and now that I am on my 3rd birth I have asked the doctor about doing so and they advised that it is considered biohazardous and they keep it to do pathological testing on it.  There is a woman in Las Vegas that took the hospital she birthed at to court to have her placenta released and she won, however you would think that there is some other easier way of acquiring something that is obtained from your body and essentially part of the baby.

[precious_jewel1913]

I asked on my birthplan fr me to get my placenta to take home i never received it,nd since i was so over whelmed with the birthlabor .nd in pain.i frgtgot abt it...nd i honestly this time gonna ask fr it nd make shure i get it,if not im gonna take them to court also.i dnt want no one running tests on my placenta nd nt kno abt it...wat else do they do.hhmmm wo knows...i say phuck that..  Im gonna burry it deep..

[seattlemom2plus]

I am still pretty adamant about looking into this so I wanted to share this link.  If you are grossed out by placentas, then the picture of one on there may be gross to you:

http://www.squidoo.com/eat-human-placenta

There was some good things mentioned in the article.  You can also make a tincture of your own placenta too which I thought was interesting.

[seattlemom2plus]

Yeah it makes me cringe that I can't acquire something that comes out of my body and is attached to my baby.  And yes I did talk to the doctor and they looked at me like I was a bit off my rocker.  I think the only solution is going to be to contact the hospital directly.  I was reading that if you do want to do this you have to make sure you bring a cooler with ice with you to the hospital so you can put it in there directly because the hospital will not store it for you while you are having your stay lol

[Heatherm4]

I asked my midwife to see my placenta and she took me through the whole thing and asked me if I wanted it. If you want it then definitely make sure that your doctor knows so that they are ready to do what they have to do to give it to you.
That's crazy someone had to go to court for something that her body grew! It's biohazardous my ***!! LOL

[seattlemom2plus]

Yeah it's my 3rd child and it might be the last time I am pregnant, so I really want to see what paperwork I can maybe fill out in advance to get it.  There are even women that fry it up and eat it to help them with the first month.  They cook it just like meat.  Yes, encapsulating it is about $275, argh  Thanks for commenting on this, I feel so crazy for asking the question because it's not a common practice.

[chantal21]

I know a lot of women in a group I belong to who save their placenta, bury it, or encapsulate it. Personally, I don't think I could encapsulate it, only because it is pretty pricy to have it done. But some women swear by it and say that it really helps with PPD and helps them when their cycle returns or when they feel like they are PMSing. I'm sure it has great healing properties and most people think it's crazy to save it or do anything with it. I think it's crazy that the women who wanted her own placenta, that HER body made, had to take the hospital to court to get it!!! That's ridiculous! That's where homebirth or birthing centers are great. They understand that women are entitled to it. I'm pretty sure after I gave birth my first time, my midwife asked me if I wanted it, we refused and she disposed of it. With my second, the placenta was so deteriorated and in horrible shape, I don't think anything could have been done with it, even if we wanted to.  I say, if you are up for it, go for it! It's your placenta and you can do what you want with it.