In 2010, medical anthropologists Daniel Benyshek and Sharon Young studied the placenta traditions across 179 societies1. Among the 109 communities that held placenta rituals, there were 169 different disposal methods (!!), which included burial, incineration, placement in a specific location, or eating the placenta.
In ancient Egypt, as well, pieces of placenta were soaked in milk and fed to the infant to test for infant mortality. The Chaga of Tanganyika place the placenta in a receptacle for two months to dry. Once dry, it is ground into flour from which a porridge is made.
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.
In contrast, it is assumed that traditionally, women did not carry out this practice for socio-cultural reasons. Nevertheless, there is evidence that dried human placenta is a centuries-old Traditional Chinese Medicine remedy consumed by postpartum mothers [19].
While it is unclear when exactly the modern practice of human placentophagy started, among the first reports in medical literature is one from 1973, It refers to an experience recounted in Rolling Stone in 1972 involving a delivery on a commune where the placenta was steamed after delivery and then eaten by the mother ...
For Alicia Silverstone, her placenta pills are "happy pills." "Someone gifted me my placenta in the form of a pill," she said on Live! With Kelly and Michael. "I have to tell you that I really loved it, and I was really sad when they were gone. It really helped me," she adds.
The burial of the placenta and umbilical cord is thought to restore the woman's fertility and help heal her womb.
Kourtney Kardashian has eaten her placenta from when she gave birth to her third child, as has Kim Kardashian with her second, Saint. Both sisters had their placentas encapsulated, which Khloé has also said she wants to do.
Preparing the placenta for consumption by mothers is considered traditional among Vietnamese and Chinese people. The Chinese believe a nursing mother should boil the placenta, make a broth, then drink it to improve her milk.
Human placenta is legally classified as a food - this British doula tell us why it's suitable for vegans.
Neither the ritual wash nor the shrouding is necessary for these babies. Placental tissue is considered part of the human body and should therefore be buried and not incinerated as presently happens in the United Kingdom.
Ezekiel 16:1-6. In this passage, God was speaking to the children of Israel that when they were born, their umbilical cord (placenta) was not properly treated and because of this they needed help. They were essentially living in the land of the dead and nobody pitied them.
Hospitals treat placentas as medical waste or biohazard material. The newborn placenta is placed in a biohazard bag for storage. Some hospitals keep the placenta for a period of time in case the need arises to send it to pathology for further analysis.
Some Christians believe the placenta should be buried while others believe it should be burnt. The placenta is regarded as the beginning of life among the Yorubas of South-West Nigeria, and it must be maintained for the safety and security of the child and its future.
Kikuyu, Yansi
In birth ceremonies and rituals, Africans include the umbilical cord, along with the placenta, in various ways. Sometimes both the umbilical cord and placenta are buried before, during, or after a naming ceremony. In some instances, only the placenta is disposed of through burial.
In both Japanese and Chinese culture, the placenta burial is believed to bestow blessings or protection for the child's future.
A lotus birth is the decision to leave your baby's umbilical cord attached after they are born. The umbilical cord remains attached to the placenta until it dries and falls off by itself. What are the risks of lotus birth? There are no research studies available on this topic.
In fact, researchers at Northwestern University School of Medicine conducted a study and found no evidence that ingesting placenta had any of these purported affects on mothers. Even further, there is zero research or evidence suggesting that ingesting placenta will do anything for a father.
The medicinal properties of the placenta were first reported in China in the 1500s, and in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), consuming one's placenta is thought to have a host of benefits, from balancing the hormones, aiding postnatal recovery, reducing bleeding and increasing breast milk production.
Some people who have eaten placenta say that it's kind of chewy and tastes like liver or beef. Others say that it has an iron taste. If that sounds unpleasant, and you want to try placenta, you might want to consider combining it with other foods or cooking it.
Well, according to a source, the use of a surrogate is down to “medical reasons: "There were medical reasons that factored into her decision to use a surrogate, but not putting such a strain on her body was a huge motivation", they told Heat Magazine.
Kim had previously delivered her first two children, North, 5, and Saint, 3, but her pregnancies had some serious health complications, which led to her decision to turn to surrogacy to keep growing her family.
Burying the placenta
The burial of the placenta was mentioned by all the participants as an Islamic recommended practice; they explained that as it is an obligation to bury the dead human body and it is encouraged to bury any separate part of the human body if possible out of respect.
It is known that we Muslims usually will bury the placenta and umbilical cord. For the practise of burying the placenta, there is no well known Sunnah about it. However like any organs, it should be treated properly with respect and that is to clean it and bury it properly.
The placenta is a key site of spiritual meaning for some birthing women, embodying the link between woman, child, and transformation of pregnancy and birth.