Questions About Consuming Placenta

[JessimaTheisen]

I plan on eating the placenta, but I would also like to leave my son attached to it for about 3 hours. Will the placenta begin to spoil if I leave it unrefrigerated for that long? Also, I am wondering if there is a reason not to cut a piece of the placenta off before we cut the cord. Could it cause bleeding or open our son up to infection or anything like that? I would like to drink a smoothie including a piece of placenta immediately after the birth, but as I said before I would like to leave baby attached for 3 hours. I do not quite understand how much energy/blood exchange takes place between baby and placenta after the placenta detaches from the mother and for how long this energy exchange continues. Any info would be appreciated!

[Devaskyla]

The placenta should be fine for that long. Mine was out for at least 2 hours before I put in the fridge.

 I would not go cutting off chunks while baby is still attached. It might be ok if the cord is white & limp, but I wouldn't do it.

[WildDoula]

I agree with the PP, I wouldn't cut off any of the placenta while it is attached. Placentas have amazing energies and I wouldn't want to disturb the placenta/baby bond immediately after birth. You're obviously leaving it attached for a reason, I would just let it be.

As far as spoilage, it will be fine. I am an encapsulator and I treat placentas like any meats. If you think of it like that, you'll be able to figure out when it has gone bad, which shouldn't be an issue if you're planning on storing it within just a few hours.

[MeAndVee]

I've only heard/read to wait til the cord stops pulsating.  I too am curious why you would leave it attached for a longer period of time?  I don't know anything on this topic!

[Lula's Mom]

With my first baby (homebirth with a midwife), I hemmorhaged .  So with my second (UC), we had the concern that it might happen again.  We cut off a dime sized piece of the placenta a few minutes after it came out.  I ate it raw, just in case, to prevent that kind of bleeding again.  Ds was not disturbed and it was probably attached for an hour or so after that.  The placenta is this big meaty thing...  a little chunk off of the side made no difference to the baby at all.  I'd have no qualms about doing it again if I needed to.

[amberskyfire]

Once the cord has stopped pulsing, there is no more blood flowing through the placenta, so you can cut or bite off a piece and it will be perfectly fine for baby. The lack of blood flowing through the placenta is actually what causes it to detach from your uterus. The placenta remains adhered until baby's body seals off the area between it and the placenta. The blood is pumped back into baby's body causing the placenta to become more flaccid. This allows it to detach and the mother's uterus clamping down further severs the organ. Once it is out, it's perfectly okay to cut off a piece immediately so long as you don't feel the cord pulsing anymore, which you shouldn't.

[JessimaTheisen]

It's good to hear that the placenta won't spoil super quickly after birth. I am not sure I will leave him attached for 3 hours, that is just a guess. I will cut the cord whenever it feels right to do so and then immediately get the placenta to the refrigerator.

MeAndVee, one of my friends (the one who introduced me to UC) had a lotus birth which is when they do not cut the cord but let it dry up and fall off on its own, which takes a few days. I did some research on it and it seems like it could be beneficial to the baby in some ways, but I want to eat the placenta (which is obviously not possible in a lotus birth) so I figured I would just leave him attached for a couple hours to adjust to being Earthside before disconnecting him from his Tree of Life.

Thank you Lula and amber for the information. I don't know whether I will feel comfortable cutting a piece from the placenta while he is still attached, but it is certainly great to know that I can if it is necessary!

[MeesterMama]

After the placenta came out and stopped pulsing we cut a small peice off for me to put in my lip (like chew tobacco). I read someone that is more effective (more quickly) than actually ingesting it for blood loss. It was an amazing feeling. So weird.  It was like energy ran though me and my dizzyness and lightheadedness went away immediately and my bleeding slowed down as well. I would definitely do it again if needed.

[Violetamor]

I've had one of my placentas encapsulated. I plan on eating this one raw.

I was at my friends UC and we ate hers raw,  I ate a small piece. It was amazing.

We cut it using shears about 2 hours after the birth.