When CAN'T you consume the placenta?

[sharita]

I have been preparing to make raw placenta smoothies but when I looked for the best sounding recipe to me online I came across a site that was from professional midwives and warned not to ingest raw placenta if you had meconium in the amniotic fluid.

I never thought about that.  I had meconium in the amniotic fluid at my first homebirth but not my second.  Makes sense, but sucks as that cuts off the option for ingesting a piece if excessive bleeding occurs also.  I wasn't planning on buying tinctures that I really can't afford and was just gonna go that route but never thought about it not being an option.

As for it just wasting if that occurs,  I suppose I could still do the encapsulation route but really don't have the money for that.  Is there nothing you can do to sterilize it after that?  I guess I better just cross my fingers and hope I have nice clear fluid all the way through. 

[~~Sarah~~]

Why would meconium in the fluid present a problem for ingesting the placenta exactly?

it rinses straight off... and meconium *is* sterile...

[greenmama66]

Vinegar is supposed to be used if mec is present- not sure what kind though- read this on a placenta site.

[sharita]

This is what I was wondering but didnt want to risk e-coli or something, lol.  Read that it is sterile in baby's bowels but soon as its out it isnt, not sure how accurate that is.  I also read the vinegar thing but that was when you plan to steam or cook it.  I just can't seem to find anything that says its okay to still ingest it raw.  Not sure but will do more research.  hopefully it wont even be an issue.

[~~Sarah~~]

Nothing is sterile once it reaches the outside world. The fact is that it was as sterile as the placenta (assuming a lack of infection...) If you are into ingesting the placenta raw - mec should make no difference in safety.  The placenta will not be sterile either once it goes through your vagina and into... whatever it goes into... after having being handled by whoever handles it. Apples aren't sterile either. 

Now if your feces got on it? That's a completely different story altogether... adult feces are not sterile by any stretch.

[sharita]

What??!!??  The placenta has to come out of my vagina?!?  I can't eat it now! Ha ha, seriously though, when I read that, I was almost stunned at the thought, "Oh my, it does come out of the vagina doesn't it.  And I am going to eat it?! Wow, that is gross" haha Then again, my baby comes out of there and I wouldn't think twice about kissing and snuggling him/her all slimy and everything.

I just had a moment of realization, haha.  And that is exactly why I will not think about it too much in all its technical sense and just the primal animal sense that animals of the wild do it and nature sure knows what it is doing. 

Asked my midwife today and she says it shouldn't be a problem since it would only have come into contact with the fetal side and been contained by the membranes and its the maternal side that we ingest.  Even if it did get on it, we wash it thoroughly and mec isnt the same thing as actual poop so all in all she wouldnt see an issue.

[AutumnAir]

Well DD2 passed mec during her UC birth and I used some of the placenta for placenta smoothies.  Most of the staining was on the membranes which I just pulled off, then rinsed the rest very thoroughly, cut up enough for placenta smoothies for a week or so and the rest went to fertilise two rose bushes - one for each girl :)  I didn't have any problems with it - it never even occurred to me, TBH!