Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

Set a reminder

Please or to access all these features

Childbirth

Share experiences and get support around labour, birth and recovery.

Who has or will eat/bury/make art with their placenta?

27 replies

amitymama · 25/06/2008 14:19

I know some people eat their placentas or have it encapsulated and then eat in as a crushed powder in pill form, others make art with it (placenta prints) and others bury it in their garden underneath a newly-planted tree or bush.

Has anyone here done anything similar with their placenta, or plan to? Just curious how common a practice it is!

OP posts:
Are your children’s vaccines up to date?
etchasketch · 25/06/2008 14:20

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

donnie · 25/06/2008 14:21

I had mine made into lipstick.

choufleur · 25/06/2008 19:28

lipstick? how? and why would you want to rub that on your lips?

i didn't think most hospitals would let you take them anyway

amitymama · 25/06/2008 20:33

I thought hospitals had to let you take it with you if you wanted it? Many won't store it for you though, so you'd have to have your partner or doula or somebody take it home with them.

OP posts:
meglet · 25/06/2008 20:38

didn't Rod Stewart get his DC's placenta buried under a tree?

alarkaspree · 25/06/2008 20:41

I think it is fairly rare.

Swedes · 25/06/2008 20:45

I like the idea of the placenta sitting on a paper towel on the hospital bedside trolley. And the staff placing the morning tea on it and commenting that its aroma is becoming "complex and interesting".

Ate · 25/06/2008 20:53

One of mine's in my freezer as we speak.

ChukkyPig · 25/06/2008 20:54

I saw on the TV years ago about eating the placenta helping to stop PND (don't know whether it does or not!).

Always thought, why not, really. They cut it into chunks and fried it with onions and bacon and mushrooms. So I suppose it has kind of a full english breakfast vibe to it.

Whe I actually had my baby it never occurred to me to have it, and had signed for cord blood, so they snaffled it away.

I suppose you'd just have to take a large cool-bag in and insist on taking it away. Can't imagine most hospitals being too happy with that. Maybe when I manage to get PG I will raise it with hosp/midwife and see what they say!

schneebly · 25/06/2008 20:56

had a quick look at it and that was about it.

onepieceoflollipop · 25/06/2008 20:58

I wouldn't even look at mine too squeamish. (sorry if this thread has ended, I had it on watch as was intrigued then I went to work )

Ate · 25/06/2008 20:59

I have friends who are genuinely offended that it is referred to as 'hazardous waste' and refused to have theirs stuffed in the little yellow bins with skull n crossbones on them, or whatever it is.

Most people I know bury them under trees.

One person I know of left theirs outside, during summer and forgot about it. They could have fished for 3 years on the quantity of maggots it ended up harbouring

maidamess · 25/06/2008 20:59

Yuck Yuck Yuckitty yuck.

Ecmo · 25/06/2008 21:06

Roast Placenta
1-3lb fresh placenta (must be no more than 3 days old)
1 onion
1 green or red pepper (green will add colour)
1 cup tomato sauce
1 sleeve saltine crackers
1 tspn bay leaves
1 tspn black pepper
1 tspn white pepper
1 clove garlic (roasted and minced)

Method
(Preheat oven to 350 degrees)

  1. Chop the onion and the pepper & crush the saltines into crumbs.
  2. Combine the placenta, onion, pepper, saltines, bay leaves, white and black pepper, garlic and tomato sauce.
  3. Place in a loaf pan, cover then bake for one and a half hours, occasionally pouring off excess liquid.
  4. Serve

Placenta Cocktail
Ingredients:

1/4 cup fresh, raw placenta
8oz V-8 juice
2 ice cubes
1/2 cup carrot

Method: blend at high speed for 10 seconds. Serve.

Placenta Lasagne
Ingredients:

1 fresh, ground, or minced placenta, prepared as above
2 tblspns olive oil
2 sliced cloves garlic
1/2 tspn oregano
1/2 diced onion
2 tblspns tomato paste, or 1 whole tomato

Method: use a recipe for lasagne and substitute this mixture for one layer of cheese. Quickly saute all the ingredients in olive oil. Serve.

Placenta Spaghetti Bolognaise
Ingredients:

1 fresh placenta, prepared as above
1 tblspn butter
1 large can tomato puree
2 cans crushed pear tomatoes
1 onion
2 cloves garlic
1 tblspn molasses
1 bay leaf
1 tblspn rosemary
1 tspn each of: salt, honey, oregano, basil, and fennel

Method: cut the placenta meat into bite-sized pieces, then brown quickly in the butter and olive oil. Add the rest of the ingredients and simmer for 1-1.5 hours. Serve.

onepieceoflollipop · 25/06/2008 21:09

indeed. Rarely am I lost for words...

ILikeToMoveItMoveIt · 25/06/2008 21:13

I plan to bury mine with a tree on top.

choufleur · 25/06/2008 21:13

i'm not coming back to this thread

amitymama · 25/06/2008 21:16

I've heard good things about it helping with PND and with preventing postpartum hemorrhage and giving the mum lots of energy after the birth, that's why I'm curious. I think if I ate mine it would have be in a smoothie though. Not sure I could eat it like a roast or bolognese.

Now the big question -- who do you rope into preparing it for you? DH certainly wouldn't, he's a total wuss about blood and guts. ;)

Not sure if I'll eat it but I don't like the thought of throwing it out either. Would plant it but what about when I move? Won't be in this house forever.

Oh, and I'm having a home birth so at least don't have to deal with the hospital policies on this.

OP posts:
onepieceoflollipop · 25/06/2008 21:31

I am trying not to laugh at the thought of me replying to your post amity (it is so NOT me to do anything but "dispose" of my placentas)

Wrt to preparation, could it be chopped into managable portions and frozen until you feel less tired and want to prepare/cook/blend it?

If you were to plant it, I would imagine it would decompose or whatever in the ground so shouldn't be a problem when you move house.

Hope all goes well with your home birth. I would imagine that the community midwives would generally remove the placenta and take with them for disposal? So worth stating your intentions/hopes prior to the birth?

ChukkyPig · 25/06/2008 21:43

Hmmm amity I'm not at all sure about a smoothie!

It is an organ like heart, liver, kidney, lung etc. And i personally would never fancy a liver smoothie!

Everyone is [puke] about ecmo's recipes but they are real recipes. You have to treat it as a large chunk of meat I'm afraid as that it what it is.

Maybe the midwife would agree to quarter it for you or something, or do you have any friends who are farmers or butchers, or just not at all squeamish? I think you need someone like that.

onepieceoflollipop · 25/06/2008 21:59

I wasn't [puke] about the recipes, found them rather interesting but definitly NOT for me.

I can't personally see much difference between eating a rare steak or a portion of placenta. (however I only eat very well cooked meat myself)

JaneHH · 25/06/2008 22:01

[puke] indeed!!! Can imagine there are lots of nutrients in there but isn't it a bit like serving up bitten off finger nails / balls of hair / bogeys aren't they full of nutrients too?

onepieceoflollipop · 25/06/2008 22:07

JaneHH more like eating a human liver or kidney I would imagine rather than things like bogeys.

Not sure if there is much nutrition in a bogey but happy to be enlightened if wrong.

JaneHH · 25/06/2008 22:10

sorry, was only a joke...

Respect to women who can bring themselves to eat their placentas, I'll say!

onepieceoflollipop · 25/06/2008 22:11

JaneHH I meant to add a at the end of my post. Interesting thread but as I have posted before not something I would do personally.

Swipe left for the next trending thread