About Placenta and the holy trinity: baby, cord and placenta
Have you ever seen a placenta printing? It is so similar to the Tree of Life representation.
Trees have strong roots to receive nutrients from the earth, they transform carbon dioxide into oxygen, purifying our environment. Placenta is the connector between the mother and the baby, the source of nourishing, sustaining life.
As a society we need to understand the importance of the delayed cord clamping or even the natural way of separation, known as the Lotus Birth: to let the placenta and the umbilical cord dry out and rot and falling off on their own in time.
Actually there is a birth trauma about the cut of the umbilical cord to soon, before the baby is all ready to be separated.
Placenta is more than an organ created exclusively during pregnancy to give oxygen and nutrients to the baby in the womb. After the baby’s birth the placenta is expelled, losing this specifically function but it can be very useful to the mother.
Some families have been expressed the will to take the placenta at home for many reasons: it can be eaten as a way to potentially stave off some of the less enjoyable after-effects of birth; it can be burned or/and buried next to a tree and it can be used to make traditional medicine preparations (tinctures, teas, potions and pills).
Can I eat the placenta?
Yes! In fact it’s the only meat we can obtain by giving life, instead of obtaining it by violent killing.
”Women who have eaten their placenta postpartum, whether raw to help prevent or stop bleeding, or cooked, report feeling more enlightened, attentive and alert. The placenta is so rich in nutrients that its intake is believed to prevent postpartum depression.
Both carnivorous animals, herbivores and omnivores, both those that seek the company of others in their group when they give birth and those that give birth alone, those that live in trees as well as those that live on the ground, most of them eat the placenta of their young immediately after giving birth.
The benefits of eating the placenta are scientifically documented, so it makes sense that it was the mammals that hose who prosper in the process of natural selection eat their placenta, since they enjoy a biological advantage that allows them to adapt better as a species.”
Capsule:
The most common placenta preparation — creating a capsule — is made by steaming and dehydrating the placenta or processing the raw placenta. People have also been known to eat the placenta raw, cooked, or in smoothies or liquid extracts.
According to human placentophagy the beneficts include prevent postpartum depression; reduce postpartum bleeding; improve mood, energy and milk supply; and provide important micronutrients, such as iron.
Those claims have not been fully tested. Although there is no proof that eating your placenta actually does these things, some experts say we should continue to study it. So to prevent bacteria or viruses like group B streptococcus, avoid conuming the placenta fresh or raw.
How about the placenta tincture?
A tincture is essentially a liquid extract of your placenta using a small piece of it in high proof alcohol. It takes six weeks for your tincture to be ready for us.
It contains the powerful nutrients and hormones of your placenta to provide balance when your body needs it. Tincture allows the perfect preservation of placenta stem cells without cooking or dehydration.
It can stabilise hormones and increase energy levels. It can be used during times of stress or transition like menopause, hot flashes, palpitations and mood swings, postpartum and anxiety and to ease anxiety and emotional distress.
Can we take the placenta from the hospital?
In Portugal the placenta is considered as hospital waste which must be incinerated. However the National Council of Ethics for Life Sciences (CNECV) suggests that all hospitals must respect will and the beliefs of all families. And comply with the requirements for the safest handling, preservation and delivery, as well as the reasons for refusal to deliver the placenta or for its destruction.
The best way to certify that the parents can take the placenta at home is to expressed this will when they visit the hospital. If this visit can´t happened the best way is to write it on the Birth Plan and communicate it to the nurses and doctors that will support the birth.
In western societies, traditionally the placenta and the umbilical cord are considered as waste after birth, but a collection can also be carried out to preserve in biobanks, for research studies, for commercial use and for human consumption. Until two decades ago, the human placenta was used in Western countries in various cosmetic products, including anti-aging creams.
In some cases, according to the will of the families and the possibilities of the hospital, the placenta can be printed in a paper right after the moment of birth.
What do you think about this topic? Share with me by email treeoflife.motherhood@gmail.com
With love, Rute Candeias Vinagre