Planting trees with placentas - can we make this normal?

[BerllanBrych]

This is my first new thread so bear with. My questions are:

1. Have you heard of this?
2. Have you done it?
3. Would you consider planting a tree with your baby's placenta?
4. If you think this makes sense and should be more widely known about, how can we go about sharing the message? I don't want to push, just raise awareness.
5. For those that wouldn't consider doing it, what are the reasons?

Our story
I'd never heard of this until our midwife casually suggested it mid-labour while I was in the birthing pool. We decided to follow her idea, and took the placenta home to sit in the freezer until we'd recovered from labour etc, and bought a sapling.
DS2 was born at home and by then we were clear that we wanted to do the same. So we had 2 fantastically nourished hazel trees growing alongside 2 kids.
This is a tradition in many parts of the world including some states in America, but it is not a common practice here.
The environmental benefits are a reduction in carbon emissions as placentas are diverted from clinical waste (incineration), and more trees to support biodiversity and store carbon. Plus you can get very clever with it, we know a Rowan who had a Rowan planted. Could go Ash for an Ash..

Would love to hear your thoughts.

Beurck

I love this idea

Are you researching for an article or just a bit of a loon?

I like it in theory.

Carrying home my large placentas in a carrier bag alongside the kids as I leave hospital.... Freezing it for a few months alongside the Chicken for Sunday lunch.... Putting it in the fridge to defrost alongside the lasagna..... Then siding a hole and manhandling it into said hole..... Less so.

Do you place the sapling directly above it? Deep enough that the fixes don't smell it...

I wanted to do it

It’s a lovely sentiment

You can donate your placenta to the NHS. It can be used as a vital tool in treating injury, spinal procedures, diabetic ulcers and eye diseases. The amniotic membrane is incredibly useful to the NHS.

Planting a tree can't be made normal after birth because many people don't have gardens or land or even the money to purchase a sapling. New parents don't need unnecessary expectations placed upon them.

1 Yes
2 Yes
3 Yes

I'm in NZ; it's not uncommon. Was originally a Māori practice but now more widespread. Have never heard of it being in any way related to environmental health or biodiversity though! There's a native tree in the garden

We took the placenta home to put in the freezer until we'd recovered from labour

Did your partner take long to recover from labour? My husband seemed fine, didn't even have stitches. Almost as if he hadn't carried a child for 9 months and birthed them

Jokes aside we don't need to share this message or "raise awareness". Not everyone is privileged enough to be able to plant trees on their land.

The "more trees to support bio diversity and store carbon" is a moot point really. This is a benefit of having trees but nothing to do with sticking a defrosted placenta under them.

It's a nice thing to do if you wish to be sentimental but I don't think you need to spread the message..

I miss olden days mumsnet. The responses now are so restrained.

Your husband isn't called Brian by any chance is he OP?

I’m a midwife and I’m the only person I know IRL who’s done this. We have a pear tree for our son and a fig tree for our daughter. It’s a nice thing to do but don’t really see any benefit to making it ‘mainstream’.

1-4 no
5 - scavengers

He he I'm old enough to remember Brian from Hull. The expert in yoni massage

He'd love a good defrosted placenta burial I'm sure.

This isn’t new. It has been done for years.

@SmileyClare

You can donate your placenta to the NHS. It can be used as a vital tool in treating injury, spinal procedures, diabetic ulcers and eye diseases. The amniotic membrane is incredibly useful to the NHS.

Planting a tree can't be made normal after birth because many people don't have gardens or land or even the money to purchase a sapling. New parents don't need unnecessary expectations placed upon them.

As far as I am aware, only UCH does this. And it has to be an elective cesarean. As the umbilical cord is required, I’m not sure if you’d get optimal cord clamping so potentially your baby may miss out on a third of their circulating blood volume.

I was in hospital for 3 days and DH was with me for 2 days, do you think the hospital would have popped out in the freezer for me?

Umm...I don't see the point? What benefit does the placenta offer the tree? You could just plant a tree minus the placenta? Welsh government used to do this actually - my daughter has a tree in Carmarthen and one in Uganda. I guess the finding got cut because my son doesn't have any trees.

There are lots of amazing things a placenta can do. So, if you want to do something positive with it, frankly sticking it in the ground seems a waste.

Are you researching for an article or just a bit of a loon?

This made me properly laugh out loud.

OP, I like the idea. But the foxes would dig it up in a heartbeat.

DS was born 19 years ago (next month) in the 'Would you like to see the placenta?' States... California to be exact. My other two kids were born here. I haven't been offered a placenta viewing since DS1. And you know what? I'm alright with that.
I'll stick with ye olde root hormone when planting my trees. I'm good.

Vince yes fair point you can only donate a placenta after an elective CS. My point was why not raise awareness of this issue instead if you want to live as ethically as possible. It's far more beneficial than burying it.

Cord blood donation is also very helpful to the NHS and would benefit others. Several hospitals in the UK can facilitate that.

@SmileyClare

Vince yes fair point you can only donate a placenta after an elective CS. My point was why not raise awareness of this issue instead if you want to live as ethically as possible. It's far more beneficial than burying it.

Cord blood donation is also very helpful to the NHS and would benefit others. Several hospitals in the UK can facilitate that.

Cord blood... also known as your baby’s blood.

waitforwhite.com/a-word-about-stem-cells/

The only thing I've ever planted under a tree is a dead cat.

RIP Fluffy

You have to be careful doing this.

What isn’t mentioned so often is that placentas have to be buried DEEPLY because animals smell them and love them . I heard of a family dog digging one up and dragging the placenta down the street 🙈
So deep in the ground yes. In a potted tree, not so much!

Nope - it's a bit weird. Plus if you move house, are you going to try and dig up the tree to take it with you?

I can't not comment on that scaremongering link posted above about cord blood donation.

There is no medical evidence that cord blood donation is harmful to mum or baby. It poses no risk at all. The link above is from a dubious source . It claims donating cord blood means taking one third of a baby's blood volume?. What nonsense!

Clamping can be delayed and the cord blood is still rich in stem cells and has essential medical value. It's vital for cancer treatments, transplants, bone marrow diseases and would otherwise be discarded after birth.

It doesn't have to be a blood match to be used as a bone marrow transplant meaning if your child had leukaemia for example, it would be used as a life saving treatment, rather than them being on a transplant list waiting for the slim chance of a perfect match
No one has to donate but it's great some parents do because it has saved many lives.

Sorry for that rambling thread derail..as you were.

I once buried some out of date mince under a magnolia, same sort of thing! Recycle, recycle!

There's a reason waste body matter from hospitals is incinerated and patients aren't encouraged to take it home in a bag and pop it in their garden. There would be a risk of contaminating water sources if everyone did this.