that we have a placenta in the freezer.
We didn’t know what to do with it at the birth, so our midwives plopped it in the freezer for us. It never dawned on either David or I before the birth that we’d have to make some sort of decision about what to do with it. (To those of you who have had hospital births: look at what you’re missing out on!)
So, until we figure this one out (we’re leaning towards trashing it or burying it in a park somewhere in the middle of the night), it’s sitting in our freezer. Eating it is definitely out. Although we’ve heard there is a service that can freeze dry your placenta and put it in capsules for you. Evidently it’s very nutritious and has a variety of health benefits. Surprisingly (or not), we’re just not that into that idea.
A part of my family’s tradition back in Malaysia (i didn’t do this! lol) is to bury the placenta after 40 days.
I’d rather do that, than eat it :P I like the idea of returning part of myself back to the earth.
heehee.. i have heard that they’re very nutritious. i could MAYBE get behind the idea of capsules? but.. oy. not just.. um.. frying it up, or whatever. heh.
I think there are also places that freeze it and hold on to it in case the baby ever needs it some day for medical reasons. Of course we all hope no one will ever need it!!!! But who knows what medicine will be able to do in the future!? I can’t believe people really eat it!
I especially like the idea of burying the placenta and planting a tree on top of it (which would be *her* tree), but because we don’t own any land this isn’t an option for us.
What about the stem cells?
I *believe* that the cord banking process is just for the umbilical cord blood, not the placenta, and in our case, I *believe* there isn’t any cord blood left over because we waited to cut the umbilical cord so that Baby Spritzer Leyba would receive all the blood in it first (there are many medical reasons/benefits for waiting to cut the cord until after it has stopped pulsing; there are even some theories out there that suggest that the rise in Autism rates can be attributed to premature cord cutting!).
I really know very little about all of the above though, so please leave a comment if you know more about it! Thanks!
So random! I was driving to work this morning listening to my usual radio morning show. The DJ has been sharing stories about his wife’s pregnancy. They went to a birthing class last night, and someone brought up eatting the placenta. So weird. I couldn’t believe the coincedence! He didn’t have any good ideas either though :)