The placenta is an organ created in a body at the start of pregnancy that sustains the life of the baby. It provides nutrients and oxygen and everything the baby needs via the umbilical cord which connects the placenta to the baby in utero. The other side of the placenta is attached to the uterus. In labour, the placenta detaches from the uterine wall and is born a short time after the baby is released into the world.
What to do with this fascinating yet limitedly useful organ?
In many cultures, the placenta is revered as a sacred symbol of life, fertility, and abundance. While Toronto is a culturally diverse city, some local families are embracing placenta ceremonies and rituals. This land is home to original peoples with tens of thousands of years of honouring the life-giving placenta. You can explore these options or create your own meaningful tradition.
Here are some ways to celebrate the placenta:
1. Give it a “Marie Kondo” style good-bye and let it go.
Not everyone is a birth nerd and it is A-ok to do absolutely nothing with your placenta. You can give it a silent thank you for having done its vital service, and now it can go away. In most cases, if you say nothing about it, your midwife or nurse will whisk it away without much fanfare. (Fun Fact: in a homebirth, your placenta goes into the green bin on garbage day!!)
2. Take a Tour or your Placenta.
Ask your birth team (your birth doula if you have one), to show you your placenta before it’s taken away. This is a very cool chance to see your baby’s first home; to imagine where they had been living, where they had just emerged from – and the chance to see the SIZE OF THE WOUND left behind on the inside. As a doula, I particularly like it when spouses/partners ALSO see the size of the invisible healing going on inside the body after childbirth. Feel free to photograph or video record as you wish before the placenta is gone from your room, it likely won’t be retrievable once it leaves your sight.
3. Take your placenta and bury it in the ground.
Take the placenta home from the birth venue (it may require a release form) and bury it in a meaningful spot in the ground. Side note: please go deep in the ground, 4ft to avoid animals disturbing it. You can add ritual, prayers, or intentions and invite other family members to make the experience even more meaningful. Many cultures around the world have practices of burying the placenta as a way to honour human life and to connect the child with the earth. Just don’t let your placenta sit in the freezer for years and years, make a plan to put it in the ground within a season or 2 of birthing.
4. Make Art with fresh placenta.
Remember in kindergarten when we dipped potato halves into paint and made pictures? Well now think placenta to create colourful, unique prints that you will cherish forever (really). The “tree of life” is an intricate mystery and symbolizes the life-giving power it gave to your baby – and it looks pretty cool with stunning colours.
5. Preserve the placenta for consumption (placentophagy).
Some birthers choose to consume their placenta, usually but not always, in capsule form, less commonly consumed fresh (cooked or blended into something more tasty than organ meat), or frozen for future uses. It is important to have the placenta properly stored, handled and processed, at temperature and for timing that ensures the safety of the end product you are consuming. Here’s some evidence on the practice: https://evidencebasedbirth.com/evidence-on-placenta-encapsulation/
If you have more placenta powder than you care to consume, it can be mixed with carrier oils and made into healing balms or salves.
Whether you choose to bury, art, or consume your placenta, consider approaching this experience with love, respect, and gratitude. The placenta is a miraculous, time-limited, vital organ and it can help you heal and recover from birth in more ways than one, use what your body gives you!
Contact Doulas on Bikes for placenta encapsulation in the Toronto area, or to be connected with our out of area colleagues.