Originally posted September 23, 2010.
Birth, although an amazingly beautiful and miraculous occasion, is, let’s face it, also pretty fantastically disgusting.
You’ve got blood and guts and possibly poo and definitely puke and meconium and blood and guts and…Placenta.
There’s just nothing pretty about placenta.
(I would normally insert a picture of a placenta in all it’s glory right here, but the picture almost made me gag, which guarantees, apparently, that most of you would SURELY gag. So if you really want to see the loveliness of a Placenta, check it out here.)
I mean, it’s pretty cool and all that when we’re pregnant we actually grow an extra ORGAN that supports and nourishes our baby, but when it decides to come OUT, it’s not a pretty sight.
I had a C-Section with Ali, which I let Chris watch in entirety and am now kinda jealous that he’s seen more of me than I have. And, since I was quite curious about the whole thing (I really should have watched – maybe next time), he described, in great detail, the Placenta-Removal-Process for me.
After they removed Ali and cut the umbilical cord, they then tugged like a leash on the still-attached-to-my-Placenta end of the cord – tug, tug, tug, and out popped the Placenta, dangling on the end of it, looking very much like they’d just removed my still-living heart, Indiana-Jones-Temple-of-Doom-style.
Despite watching them slice me open, cauterize (aka burn) me, pound on my belly to get the Ali to come out and play, and reach into my abdomen up to their elbows, I’m pretty sure that that the placenta removal was the most disturbing part of the entire process for Chris.
…which makes me wonder what he would have said if I had requested, at that moment, for him to save it so that I could….eat it.
Because, yes, people do.
After all, most animals eat their placentas – why shouldn’t we?
(For the same reason we shouldn’t greet one another by sniffing each other’s butts, but that’s just my opinion.)
According to some, eating one’s own placenta after birth provides great nutritional value, and can also help with post-partum depression and lactation.
I personally think also it would greatly help with losing all of my baby weight, because if I managed to choke down my Placenta, I don’t think I’d ever be able to brush my teeth, tongue, roof, palette, and throat hard enough, OR with enough bleach, to feel like my mouth was sanitary enough to hold food ever again.
But, there are plenty of recipes for Placental Cuisine.
The most humane way to eat one’s own organ (and almost palatable in thought) is to have it cooked, dehydrated (think placenta-jerky, or placenta roll-ups), then ground into powder and inserted into capsules.
I might could manage to swallow a pill of my own guts.
Other options include Placenta Meatloaf, Placenta and Onions, and I’m sure someone out there has made Placenta Brownies.
But really, if you’re going to eat yourself for nutritional benefits, it seems like you might as well get all the nutrients possible, without letting any get cooked, dried, or processed out.
Which is why there are an abundance of recipes for Placenta Tartare.
According to Tom Cruise, who is apparently an expert on Placental Culinary Arts (which makes me wonder how many and whose Placentas he’s been snacking on), Placenta Tartare is best prepared by combining one pound of freshly ground placenta, one teaspoon of brown mustard, one-half teaspoon of Tabasco sauce, one teaspoon each of Worcestershire sauce and brandy, one egg, a pinch of salt, and ground white pepper.
And, it’s delicious on crackers or toast, and when paired with a nice merlot.
Or, more realistically, after you’ve had so much crack that you think “Placenta” is another word for “Filet Mignon”.
But, since Noah’s most likely going to be born the week of Christmas, at least now I know how we can save some money on Christmas dinner…after all, who needs a Honey Baked Ham when you can have fresh Placenta?
Don’t worry – I’ll be sure to serve it up with a gourmet side of breast-milk cheese.
There are no words.
this post makes me feel yucky. I actually did have my placenta encapsulated however, a much less gross approach in my opinion, and I definitely think it helped with postpartum. still have some capsules in the freezer if you’d like me to mail you a few ;)
I agree – much less gross! That part does make sense – the postpartum part. But … I think I’ll pass on trying your placenta. Thanks, though! :)
Gross!!
Placenta freezing and saving is usually done when cord blood is banked and all during delivery. Thats seems to be the “LifeSaving Technology by recreating stuff out of baby cells” or something more fancy in medical terms .. In case stem cell research does not work.. there are huge cord blood banks saving up on placentas and cord blood of so many people.
Placenta Tartare and skimmed Crod blood as a side dish.
A country would be fed.
(gag cough gag gag gag cough.)
… or at least Tom Cruise. They better put some security around those banks!!!
lol. yeah security would be needed for sure or they might just find Tom hanging down their ceiling by the umbilical cord for a midnight snack.
lol. I imagined it!!
(copied from mail and added here again.. would have been terrible if the rest of your fans missed this version of Mission Impossible eh?)
I think this post grossed me out just as much as it did the first time…especially with my own impending placenta delivery. Yuck. Yuck. Yuck.
Okay, confession time here. I have a placenta in my freezer. I should perhaps explain that my midwife put it there after Ella was born two months ago, and asked me what I wanted to do with it when I was still incoherent and just thinking “will my butt ever stop hurting?!”. The placenta is STILL in the freezer because I’m so grossed out that I can’t bring myself to get it out with tongs and take it to the garbage. I’ve decided to bury it under 3 year old frozen vegetables and wait for Andy to find it when he’s looking for ice cream.
(Snicker snicker)
I love this. Love it. Make sure to let us know what happens when he finds it – especially if he thinks it’s a roast and throws it into the crock pot.
I’m laughing so hard the dog keeps waking up and staring at me.
My apologies to the dog.
On the last day of our vacation we stopped by my mother-in-law’s where her goat was in labor. I got to witness the birth and ponder that goats and most mammals eat their placenta for health and safety reasons. The mother goat also licks the babies clean. I’m 7 months pregnant, so I pondered what it would be like to do it the way the goat did.
I got most of it on video with my phone and it was apparently so traumatizing for the phone that on the way home it died. Permanently.
Thank you thank you thank you for this comment!! I read it in the middle of an especially stressful and chaotic part of my day, and it made me laugh ferociously. I needed that!