Placenta

[Legatia]

Hello there!

I have a couple questions about the placenta. I'd like to eat it in my morning smoothies, but I'd also like to leave attached to baby for as long as possible before preparing it to get frozen. How long can I wait if I don't want to put it in ice while it is attached?

Also, I have no idea how big it usually is or how easy to cut it would be. What size bowl should I use to keep it in until it gets cut? What should I use to cut it? Would a normal kitchen knife do the job?

Thanks!!!

[~~Sarah~~]

Once the placenta is no longer attached, it is essentially a large chunk of raw meat. The question then becomes "how long would I leave a large chunk of large meat without preservation of some sort?" Of course, most steaks (for example) are destined to me cooked before they are eaten, and so can be left out a bit longer. If you are going to eat your placenta raw - it must be treated more like sushi meat. 

A normal (good) kitchen knife should do the job, keeping in mind that the membranes and cord are quite tough. It's probably best to cut the meat of the placenta from them. 

A normal placenta is more of a salad or mixing bowl size, rather than a soup bowl. lol Hope that helps!

[Legatia]

Thanks :)

[JessimaTheisen]

I asked the same question recently. Here is the thread: http://www.mothering.com/community/t/1320437/questions-about-consuming-placenta

[wombjuice]

In my opinion, it is not really accurate to compare the placenta to a grocery-bought piece of raw meat.  Raw steaks that you see in the stores have traveled to get there and are not fresh off the cow (they may even be a couple days old).  Your placenta will be literally brand new from your body.  Depending on the temperature in your house, it may be appropriate to leave baby attached for a couple hours or more.  Go with your gut feeling.  You will know when it is time to detach baby from the placenta.

As far as size and practicalities, anticipate the placenta being about the size of a dinner plate and around an inch in thickness.  You will need a colander to go inside a big bowl to allow your placenta to drain (and drain it will!).  When you are ready to separate it from your baby, do so in whatever way you choose, and then have your appointed placenta preparation person bring the colander and bowl to the sink and rinse it (and rinse it and rinse it and rinse it...you'd be amazed at how much you must rinse it before the water runs almost clear).  I recommend rinsing thoroughly for smoothie consumption...it's not as necessary for encapsulation because you will not taste any blood in the capsules. 

Anyway, when it is good and rinsed, use a very sharp knife (preferably filet--placentas are TOUGH) to cut off any dangling membranes and the umbilical cord, and then cut the placenta into 1-2 inch chunks.  You can then place these chunks on a plate (keeping space between them so they don't touch each other), and place the whole plate in a large zip-lock freezer bag.  Then put the whole thing in the freezer and use one piece at a time for your smoothies (the first smoothie can be made right after your baby's birth with a raw, unfrozen piece of placenta!).  This is my preferred method.  Some mamas put the placenta chunks in the fridge for a couple days before transferring to the freezer.  I don't like to take the chance that any placenta will get funky.

Hope this helps!

[Devaskyla]

I actually used kitchen shears rather than a knife to cut my placenta. And I barely rinsed it, but I encapsulated rather than making smoothies.

We left the cord for well over an hour & then put the placenta in the fridge until I felt up to dealing with it