Saving the Placenta

Specialties Ob/Gyn

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Are there any hospitals that might not let a couple bring home the placenta? Also, how does the placenta go home with a couple? Is it put into a bag or anything?

I have a client who just asked that question. :D

My sister-in-law just did that. Had a baby on the 13th and they're planting a tree over it. I wonder what the EPA would say about buring a placenta??

Oh, well, I do like the idea of planting a tree for the baby. That's kinda neat. It's the whole placenta thing that's a little strange.

Back in the '80's and into the early 90's a company picked up our placenas(....if you look at the ingredients of some shampoos and cream rinses they have placenta as an ingreadient!)...we called him the Placenta Man.:eek: Our delivery kits have a placenta pan in them so we bio double bag it in that. If the fridge 24 Hour urine collection isn't being used we put it in there. Once a nursing student put it in our break room fridge:uhoh3: :chair: EEEEEWWWWWWWWWWWWWEEEEEEE!!!!!

Originally posted by SmilingBluEyes

It is very common for couples to desire a placenta be planted neath a tree or in a garden in a spiritual ceremony. I see nothing wrong w/this. But I agree, hospitals may balk due to "infection control" reasons, so if this is done, must be done cautiously ....I would let them have it in a PUNCTURE-PROOF container, double-bagged. And yea, I would not spread the word it was going home w/the family, either. But I do respect their traditions and spiritual needs whenever I can accomodate them.

I would have to do a bit of investigation and education when requested to send a placenta home....

Why? (spiritual vs "in" thing to do)

How important to them?

(a BIG deal vs 'my girlfriend did it & I thought it was a cute idea')

Aware of possible consequences?

(messy, 'germs', the neighborhood cat digging it up and dragging it around)

If family were adamant and well informed, I would leave the double red-bagged placenta on the counter in the birthing room and leave the room for a while

;)

"I would not spread the word it was going home"

hugs

haze

i let couples take it home we just double bag it and or put it in a plastic container. i see no problem with it. we took ours home and buried by a tree .

Originally posted by CTRN1

Gross but true....I have had more them one patient make placenta prints after delivery. Its kind of like stamp art....but with placentas. Actually, if done right they do look like oak trees, kind of pretty, but definately not for me. My husband would FREAK if I ever suggested such a thing.

I've heard of the cultural thing of burying the placenta, but geez, Louuueeezzz! Making STAMP ART of it? Gag me!:eek: :o :uhoh3:

Specializes in NICU, L&D, OB, Home Health, Management.

This shows how old I am, but I remember when one of the drug companies gave us a "placenta freezer" and then came once a month to pick them up -

The funny thing was that was where the OB nurses hid their ice cream - No on else would touch it!!:roll

:chair:

Very Interesting!! "You learn something new everyday." Who

can tell me the spiritual significance of growing a tree over a

buried placenta??

it is supposed to bring good luck and a long life for the baby

We've cared for several Asian families who took their placenta home. In their countries, where they live in huts with dirt floors (and slept on cots), they had a custom of burying the placenta in the earth under the bed. I'm not sure of the significance.

We sent the placenta home in a plastic bucket received from the Pathology lab and filled part way with the chemical "formalin" to keep the placenta from degrading.

The suggestion of planting a tree over it makes sense to me because it stands to reason that the placenta would make a rather good fertilizer. I know in the past, when we've buried out dear animal companions in the back yard, we'd also plant some daffodils or narcissus plants over their grave the following spring. Boy oh Boy did they ever grow wonderfully!! I like to think they grew well because our pet's spirits were thankful, yet I'm sure the fertilizer effects were a good part of it.

Without a placenta, there will be no baby. It's all a matter of perception, but I believe the placenta's are rather beautiful when they are in good condition. They are absolutely amazing in how they are formed and grow. I guess my "Maternal-Child-NICU" background is showing! LOL

My friend planted rose bushes over the placentas of her twins.

We though it was sweet until her dog dug them up a week later and dragged one into the living room.

Specializes in Specializes in L/D, newborn, GYN, LTC, Dialysis.

OH YUCK bb nurse.

Specializes in OB.

I worked for years with a Native American culture where taking the placenta home to bury was a cultural norm. One problem that did arise was that if we sent home the placenta in biohazard red bags, some would reuse the bags for garbage, eventually ending up at a landfill. The hospital then got censured for improper disposal of hazardous waste (no way to disprove it).

After this, we simply double bagged placentas in plastic bags. I'd also wrap the entire bag, usually in a chux, since the regular bags are clear, and don't look too good in transit.

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