In a world where women deliver their babies under the influence of drugs, flat on their backs and being either screamed at or sliced into, most women never see the beautiful, life giving organ that allowed their baby to survive nine months. Modern, detached women may view the placenta with disgust and revulsion, but it is a highly evolved, incredible organ that carries both function, spirit and yes, nutrition.

What is the placenta?
The placenta is an amazing organ unlike any other in the human body. It is a flat, circular organ that weighs approximately one pound or 1/6 the baby’s body weight at birth. The placenta has two sides, one for the baby and one for the mother. The baby’s side is smooth and the umbilical cord usually emerges directly from the center. The mothers side is attached to the wall of her uterus and after the placenta is delivered, it appears bumpy and knobby and should be intact with no missing pieces.

The placenta is formed from the same sperm and egg that eventually become the fetus so many cultures treat the placenta with respect, as they would a twin. The placenta is also unique to other human organs because not only is it the only temporary human organ but it is also the only one that is housed outside of the body.

What does the placenta do?

The placenta is a large, highly complex organ, capable of a multiplicity of synthetic, secretory, filtration, analytic, and transport functions. It serves as the interface of the maternal and fetal physiological systems. cogprints.org

The placenta does more than any other organ in the human body and it makes life possible for your baby. The placenta acts as lungs, kidney and digestive system for your baby. It takes over hormone production around 12 weeks gestation, which will trigger labor and delivery, generate relaxin to prepare your body for birth, and provides estrogen, progesterone and hCG just to name a few.

The most amazing part of the placenta is its ability to bring maternal and fetal blood right next to each other without mixing. The maternal blood enters the placenta loaded with nutrients for her baby, leaves the nutrients behind and takes away her baby’s waste products. Conversely, the baby’s blood enters the placenta with waste products and returns from the placenta with maternal nutrients.

In addition, the placenta provides valuable stem cells to the fetus, protects the fetus from infections and harmful substances, provides energy for the baby by synthesizing glycogen, cholesterol and fatty acids and also provides passive immunity to the newborn through the transfer of maternal antibodies. The placenta even secretes hormones that “cloak” it from the mother’s immune system to prevent attacks.

Mystical and Cultural Significance of the Placenta
There are a variety of rituals surrounding the placenta that vary by culture. Many cultures revere the placenta for its role in their babies life. Certain cultures consider it the baby’s older sibling, best friend or deceased twin. Burying the placenta is a common practice either to honor the placenta, to nurture a tree that is planted a year later or to have a funeral ceremony for the “relative” of the baby.

As natural childbirth takes hold in western civilizations, more women are choosing to honor their placentas with various activities rather than letting a medical provider either sell it or burn it. Many women freeze their placentas for either a future ceremony, future meal or to be dried and ground at a later date. Marci Marcari discusses the freezing of placentas in her book She Births, and refers to those who freeze their placentas as member of the frozen placenta society (FPS).

Other women are finding lotus birth to be the most natural, gentle way to “cut the cord”. In a lotus birth the cord is not touched at all and usually falls off on its own in a few days. The placenta is either kept moist in a dish next to the baby or kept salted in a little pouch. Both methods are designed to keep odors at bay. The undisputed best part of a lotus birth is that the baby gets to keep all the blood and stem cells that belong in its body but there are other benefits as well such as allowing the mother and baby to stay close, lay low and enjoy their babymoon.

One other tradition that is taking hold even if the cord is cut is placenta printing, a sweet practice in which the placenta and umbilical cord is placed against a piece of paper and a print resembling a tree is left either using paint or the remaining blood and amniotic fluid.

Eating your placenta
Eating the placenta is also known as Placentophagia. Many animals, including herbivores, routinely chew through the umbilical cord and proceed to eat the placenta after their babies are born. Instinct driven creatures, it has been said, do not make mistakes. Human beings ignore their instincts, for better or for worse, and are driven by cultural and social forces, dogma and stigma. Due to these factors, the practice of eating your own placenta is relatively rare among humans, but still practiced among a small number of people around the globe, for both nutritional and ritualistic purposes.

The human placenta is so nutrient rich that you must plant an adjacent tree a full year after you bury the placenta or the tree will die. The placenta is loaded with nutrition that can replenish what a new mother lost due to pregnancy and childbirth. Placentophagia is believed to prevent postpartum depression, postpartum hemorrhage, help shrink the uterus and helps to relieve other pregnancy related complications.

The placenta is the only meat that a person can eat without killing or maiming another living being which may appeal to vegetarians. The placenta can be eaten raw, usually by blending it with vegetable juices and spices or simply swallowing a small piece whole. If the nutrients are to be preserved, then it certainly makes sense to eat it raw and fresh the way the animals do. While this sounds great in theory, most people cannot stomach raw, red organ meat of any animal so most people will not be able to enjoy the benefits of raw placenta either.

If you want to the benefits of eating placenta in a form that mimics meat cooked the way you are accustomed to eating it, then you will be able to find a number of recipes for cooked placenta, such as lasagna, pizza, roasts and other familiar foods. You can also simply fry it up with onions and peppers or cook it any way you would cook a steak.

Many families will create a ceremony out of the placenta meal and all will partake, similar to a burial ceremony or any other ritual that celebrates the role the placenta has had in their lives. Keep in mind that the rest of the family does not have depleted nutritional stores from pregnancy and childbirth so they do not need the placenta nearly as much as you will.

Final Function
You may find it strange that some people eat their own placentas but there is a modern placenta practice that is so barbaric, cruel and wrong that it will make eating placenta seem as benign as eating birthday cake.

In a practice affectionately known as “active management of the third stage of labor”, unscrupulous doctors and midwives routinely amputate the placenta while it is still functioning in a move reminiscent of the urban legends involving kidneys and bathtubs. Like the kidney thieves, many hospitals profit from the sale of the placentas for research and cosmetic purposes, but the doctors and midwives simply do it because they are in a rush and they either do not know any better or they simply do not care.

Your birth attendant may yammer on about preventing postpartum hemorrhage, but it does not take a rocket scientist (although obstetricians can’t figure it out) that amputating one end of a live organ and then literally ripping it from the uterine wall is more likely to cause hemorrhage. These people are not only idiots, they are routinely performing one of the greatest human rights violations in modern medicine.

“The results of routinely clamping the cord after the placenta has delivered should soon persuade the birth attendant of the value of this practice – five-minute Apgar scores are routinely 10, even when one-minute Apgar scores are below 4.” Birthbraininjury.org

If someone were to drain 1/3 of your blood or harvest one of your organs without your permission, could they go to jail? Of course they would. Even if you somehow survived, no one is allowed to take what is rightfully yours, in your body without your permission. If you test the DNA of placental blood, does it belong to the midwife? the OB? the mother? No, no and no. It belongs to your baby. It is simply not the birth attendant’s choice to rob a baby of it’s own blood. As long as the umbilical cord is pulsing, the placenta is functioning and infusing the newborn with blood, oxygen, stem cells and immunity.

While removing that percentage of blood from your body would kill you, birth attendants believe it is OK to save themselves 15 lousy minutes of time with no concern whatsoever for long term injury to the baby because it does not kill them and long term effects of oxygen deprivation may not appear for years and naturally can no longer be proven. How convenient.

Not only does this oxygen rich blood belong to the baby, but this final blood transfusion serves a very important purpose in the period immediately following delivery. The placenta and umbilical cord provide oxygen to the baby prior to the baby’s first breath. Even if a baby takes its first breath immediately, it will take a few minutes for the oxygen from breathing to reach the lungs and be dispersed through the baby’s body, most importantly to the brain. Placental oxygenation is the bridge that keeps your baby’s brain and cells fully oxygenated until pulmonary oxygenation takes over. Immediate cord clamping is a heinous practice that literally deprives every single newborn baby of oxygen in that critical time period.

In addition, delayed cord clamping helps prevent postpartum hemorrhage because it allows the placenta to detach naturally when its job is over. When the cord is left open, the placenta is allowed to give up its blood which then allows it to spontaneous detach from the uterine wall, often with the aid of natural oxytocin released through breastfeeding. No ripping, tugging, pulling or manual traction is necessary. The problem is that 99% of birth attendants are not willing to wait.

Keep in mind that there are only two legitimate, scientifically based reasons for immediate cord clamping and they are a torn cord and placenta previa. A cesarean, premature delivery or severely compromised infant are never grounds for immediate cord clamping, in fact these compromised newborns are in even greater need of the life giving, oxygenated, nutrient filled blood that the placenta contains.

Unfortunately you have very few choices if you want your baby to retain life giving blood, oxygen, stem cells and immunity that the placenta carries for that final blood transfusion. Having an unassisted childbirth is the best way to 100% guarantee that no malicious cord clamping is performed on your newborn. Your second choice is a lay midwife who respects your wishes and the role of the placenta and will allow you to either have a lotus birth or wait until the placenta is delivered although they have also been known to ignore the parents request to leave the cord alone. Some midwives have to be physically blocked or placed in another room to keep them away from the cord. Do yourself a favor and get references from women who used the midwife and the cord remained intact.

If you are going to deliver in the hospital, whether it is with a certified nurse midwife or a doctor, your odds of allowing your baby to keep its blood and oxygen fall sharply. Even with written instructions via a birth plan and verbal instructions, these people are bound and determined to clamp that cord as fast as possible. If you have simply given them a written birth plan with your wishes in addition to your verbal instructions, you can pretty much count on them clamping and cutting the cord anyway.

Here is your number one takeaway “get your birthplan signed by all parties, including an attorney.”

No matter what your verbal or written instructions say, be prepared to physically stop birth attendants from both injecting you with pitocin (they can be very sneaky) and from cutting the cord (they will be very fast). It is your job to protect your baby, it is your OB’s job to get to his tee time. You very well may need to get your partner or doula to physically stop them or you have have to kick them or fight them off (don’t forget to use lawsuit threats). Get it on film if they cut the cord anyway and sue their asses off. Do not let them talk you out of it or blabber on with nonsense that has no scientific basis such as jaundice or anything else. It is all bogus and they either do not know what they are talking about or they simply care more about 20 minutes of their time than your baby’s long term health and well being.

In either event, you need to take matters into your own hands. You are a paying customer but that does not matter. They will do whatever they want to you unless you take steps to legally enforce your wishes. The best way to ensure that no one in a hospital touches the cord before the placenta is delivered is to get it in writing and signed prior to the birth. You will most likely have to get an attorney involved and have every relevant party sign the document well in advance of the birth. Threaten in advance to sue if they ignore your wishes and clamp the cord before the placenta is delivered. You can insist on keeping the cord intact for all deliveries, including cesarean births. They will hate it because they might have dinner reservations, but that isn’t your problem now is it?

Perhaps the best way to avoid any cord issues with birth providers is to insist on a lotus birth. Get it in writing, in advance with a legal document. Then you will also avoid any issues you may have with keeping your own placenta for freezing, burying, printing or even eating. Apparently hospitals tend to think of your placenta as their property as soon as it leaves your body and some women have had to take legal action after the fact in order to keep what is rightfully theirs. If you do not want a lotus birth, simply cut the cord yourself after all hospital staff leave the room or after you leave the hospital. Extreme? Absolutely. Do they leave us a choice? Unfortunately, no they don’t.

The placenta is more than a miraculous organ that sustained life for nine months, it is a bridge from the born to the unborn. Some call it disposable but that is a great insult to the friend and organ that made life possible for your little one.

Additional resources and reading:
Wikipedia: Placentophagy
Placenta Party
Placenta recipes
Personal story of placetophagy and postpartum health
How to End the Birth Litigation Crisis
Unknown to mothers, placentas collected & sold
Lotusbirth.com
Don’t cut the cord!
Civil Action to Protect Babies Umbilical Cord
Umbilical Cord Issues/Delayed Cord Clamping
Criminal Teaching on immediate cord clamping on an infant’s pulsating lifeline, the umbilical cord

Image source: http://flickr.com/photos/alfon18/2423985845/

Today is the last day of April and the last day of cesarean awareness month. Yes, cesareans are valuable in a very small number of instances such as placenta previa but those cases account for somewhere in the neighborhood of 1-5% of births. Most cesareans are simply lining the wallets of obstetricians while allowing them to be home for dinner (and conveniently dodge lawsuits at the same time).

Want to avoid a cesarean? If you are a healthy, low risk woman, then have a homebirth. Nobody is going to slice into your uterus in your own home. Don’t go to the hospital unless there is a problem.

Why don’t you check with your chiropractor about the damage babies incur when dragged out of the womb by their heads vs being gently pushed out through a uterine contraction/gravity combo.

Author: Elizabeth Mcgee

Recent research shows that c-sections today account for almost 30% of all births. If you’re an expectant mom, you may want to think about that. Many c-sections are planned due to medical conditions, some c-sections are even a choice women make to avoid childbirth pain, however many occur in the wake of complications during labor, and these are the c-sections that catch moms off guard.

For a mom planning a vaginal birth it can be a mental and often emotional shock to know that your birth expectations won’t be met. Instead you’ll be confronted with anesthesia, catheters, surgery, a longer hospital stay and a host of potential complications.

Without careful thought and planning, you are left with your doctor and hospital staff making decisions for you that can leave you feeling out of control and emotionally compromised. Whether a c-section is expected or unexpected, you still need to be prepared. Statistics show that women suffer a lesser degree of emotional stress and depression from having a c-section if they are prepared for the process by fully understanding why it is needed and take part in the decisions being made.

You may be thinking that it’s easy to plan for something you expect to happen, but how do you plan for something you don’t expect? “Expect the unexpected”, as they say and plan accordingly. Regardless of whether you expect to have a c-section or it comes as a surprise, be prepared! That means understanding the risks, familiarizing yourself with the procedures, knowing your options and giving careful thought to what you want most for you and your baby. If problems should occur, be familiar with what they are and be ready for how you will respond to them.

Let’s take a look at why c-sections occur in the first place. Planned c-sections typically occur because of things like breech birth, carrying multiple babies, having had a previous Cesarean, age, obesity and other medical conditions that dictate a surgical birth according to the medical model of childbirth.
Sheryl’s comment:
Most of the reasons listed in the previous paragraph are not valid reasons for a cesarean. They are doctor invented, not based in medical science and may protect the doctor but a cesarean is always more risky for both mom and baby. You need to know your facts so you can refuse a cesarean. Any doctor who fillets a mother’s baby from her womb because she has crossed an arbitrary age limit, should be drawn and quartered (in my humble opinion).

For healthy moms that don’t expect a c-section, things like failure of labor to progress, fetal distress or baby isn’t able to successfully pass through the birth canal can also require a c-section. So how do you effectively prepare? You’ve probably heard women say that they didn’t feel their c-section was really necessary or that doctors are often too quick to perform c-sections due to convenience or avoidance of legal issues. This may or may not be true in many cases however; wouldn’t you want to be sure that your c-section was the best choice for you?

Making clear decisions and immediate choices are a lot harder while flat on your back in labor. This is why keeping yourself informed, and having a plan for what may occur is so important. The last thing you want is your doctor and/or hospital staff making decisions for you. This is your baby’s birth and it should be as you would like it.

No matter how you expect the birth of your baby to go, take the time to go over possible complications, understand the choices and be ready emotionally and physically.

Here are some things you should think about and work into your plan:

The anesthesia
There are basically 3 types of anesthesia, spinal, epidural and General. Spinal and Epidural are regional anesthesias which mean they numb a region of your body. In the case of a c-section the region is roughly from the waist down. A general anesthesia puts you completely under. Most c-sections use a spinal or epidural. In case a c-section should occur you should have an idea for which one you would prefer.

The urinary catheter
You will be administered a catheter before surgery. Make sure it gets inserted after your anesthesia as inserting a catheter may ’smart’ a bit.

Where does your baby go after the birth?
Ask your doctor or the hospital about having your baby rest on your stomach after it’s born. Otherwise your baby is often whisked away and never brought back until you are in recovery.

Discuss pain relief with your doctor
Being as pain free as possible is important to your recovery, it also helps get breastfeeding off to a good start. Your milk may be slow to come in so it’s important to get the process going as soon as possible. Staying on top of your pain at all times is important.

How do you envision your delivery to be?
Most hospitals will allow your partner with you in delivery but some hospitals will allow other family members as well. Check with your hospital and doctor to find out what their procedures are and plan according. Also don’t forget to think about pictures and/or videos.

Your Recovery
Hospital recovery takes about 3-4 days. You will be slow and tired for the first few days, but stay focused on moving about as quickly as you can, and don’t hesitate to ask for help when you need it.

Keep in mind that your recovery at home may not be as easy as it was in the hospital. Make sure your home is set up for convenience before leaving for the hospital. Have childcare for older children taken care of, plan meals and household chores so that you are free to concentrate on other baby related things. Work in a modest exercise plan that keeps your energy up and get as much rest as possible while staying focused on yourself and your baby.

About the Author

Elizabeth is the author and creator of the popular ‘Worry-free-c-section’. Learn how you can avoid unnecessary pain, enjoy a speedy c-section recovery, calm your anxiety and fears, and reduce the undesirable outcomes of having a cesarean section. http://www.worry-free-c-section.com

Image Source: http://flickr.com/photos/tomhe/467160618/

Many women in America and around the world are currently under the impression that cesarean sections are somehow cleaner, neater, easier and more civilized. While they can save the lives of women and babies in rare, extreme circumstances, by and large they are unnecessary and overused either to prevent a lawsuit, to fix the damage caused by other interventions or worst of all, for convenience sake.

Hopefully this video, which shows a cesarean in graphic detail will put to rest the notion that a cesarean is better. It is a violent start for both mother and baby and women who think for themselves avoid them at all costs.

One of the sections of the study is titled “Birthrape”. I felt the hair on the back of my neck stand up as I read that. I proceeded to immediately Google the term “Birthrape” and the results I found brought tears to my eyes. The most moving is A Different Kind of Pain in Childbirth by navelgazingmidwife which is a series of statements that she heard other midwives say (and do) during actual births. You simply have to read this and understand that this sort of things happens all the time.

According to the navelgazingmidwife, Birthrape is:

“The experience of having fingers, scissors, and/or tools put/pushed/shoved inside a woman’s vagina or rectum without her direct (or indirect) permission. Being coerced, manipulated, or lied to regarding the health and safety of the baby or themselves so the midwife is able to do something to the mother’s vagina, rectum, cervix, or perineum, usually with excuses; rarely with apologies.

Some find the definition expanded to: The midwife taking the woman’s Power by using disparaging comments, unsupportive expressions, speaking around her as if she is unable to hear or process requests or information.

Even though consent forms are signed in the hospital, birth center, and at home, consent for care does not include the manipulations or coercive words to get women to obey the caregiver.” - A Different Kind of Pain in Childbirth

The word “rape” has passed through my head about a million times since the birth of my daughter almost three years ago despite the fact that I have never in my life heard that word in conjunction with birthing. I was shocked, humiliated and horrified by the violent, cruel and indifferent treatment that I received by my midwife during my daughter’s birth. While it was probably the most disturbing and traumatic part of her birth, it was the part that people around me did not want to hear about it after the birth. I have replayed that evening in my head thousands of times, wondering what I could have done differently to prevent the unthinkable. I have wondered hundreds of times what I could have possibly done to that woman to make her hate me so much. Did I do something during the prenatal visits? Does she treat everyone that way? Was it really only in the interest of time?

Sure, she had an appointment to get to, but to physically violate someone in the most violent and intimate way….. How could another human being with a conscience, a soul, do that to another? How is it legal to violently rape and even mutilate another human being for any reason, during any circumstance? That question will haunt me forever. Do we somehow stop being people because we are delivering a baby? If a stranger would have done the same things to my body that the midwife did, he would go to jail for 20 years for aggravated sexual battery. My midwife walked away, made it to her morning appointment and got paid for it.

This is an everyday reality of childbirth in America. It is so prevalent, most likely because of the inherent conflict of interest built into the current birthing system: births can take days and childbirth practitioners and facilities want it over in less than 24 hours, preferably less than 8. I still have to wonder if there isn’t more to the story than that, however. Something makes me believe in my heart that the childbirth “care”givers (and I use that term loosely) believe in their heart of hearts, that women somehow deserve this degrading and violent treatment for getting pregnant in the first place.

Maybe I have thought too much about it. Maybe they really are in such a damn rush that they feel they can do whatever it takes to expedite the process. What disturbs me the most is that (no offense guys) women are doing this to each other! I just cannot imagine violating another human being this way but to do this to a sister who went to you in good faith and put the well being of herself and her baby in your hands…….ladies, you should be ashamed of yourselves.

For me, there is simply no way I will trust another “care”giver to touch me again (unless I get hit in the head with a brick and marry a OBGYN), any more than a rape victim will visit the same dark parking lot where her brutal attack occurred. If I have the opportunity to give birth again, I will choose unassisted childbirth for myself but if I do decide to have an attendant present, I would choose a lay midwife who was willing to wait 3 days, not do any pelvic exams, not touch the umbilical cord (at all) and let me “catch” my own baby. What are the odds of finding her? One in a thousand? One in ten thousand? More?

Lastly (and perhaps this is PTSD speaking), I wont ever undergo another pelvic exam if there is any possible way I can stop it. The threat of cervical cancer is much less frightening than letting anyone that I don’t love and who doesn’t love me anywhere near my body. I will never give “them” another chance to hurt me, violate me or go anywhere near my holiest of holies. All you “care”givers out there can take that to the bank.

Shortly after your baby is born, you may be somewhat focused on what you experienced during labor and delivery and less on your baby. This is perfectly normal. It was a monumental event in your life, and there is a transition period. Don’t be afraid to share your feelings with others or write about your experience in a journal.

As you adapt to your role as a mother, you may find yourself feeling stressed or anxious. You might question whether or not you will be a good mother, and you are probably feeling a bit exhausted and overwhelmed. You might even feel a little let down or blue. If you understand whats happening to your body and emotions, you will be much more likely to face the challenging first few months of motherhood.

Taking good care of your physical health is vital right now. Schedule time to eat meals, exercise (even if its just a walk around the block), and rest. Your body has worked hard through the pregnancy, labor, and delivery, and it will take another 40 weeks or more for things to return to normal.

Immediately after delivery, your uterus will begin rapidly decreasing in size. Within several weeks, it will have returned to normal size. As well, you can expect to have vaginal bleeding, called lochia, for a couple of weeks while your uterus sheds its lining. If you are not breastfeeding, you will probably have a menstrual period within 6 to 8 weeks after giving birth. If you are breastfeeding, it may be many months or even years before menstruation returns.

You can expect that you will be experiencing some postpartum pains and discomforts for a few days and possibly weeks, especially if you had a cesarean birth or an episiotomy. Don’t try to overexert yourself until you are feeling, for the most part, pain-free. Other common complaints of women after giving birth include:

• Constipation
• Urinary incontinence
• Sweating
• Swollen, painful breasts (from breastfeeding)
• Overall fatigue

Try to keep in mind that the aches, pains, and fatigue of being a new mother will go away on their own quickly. If, however, you feel that there may be a complication or problem, such as excessive bleeding, unexplained pain, or fever, don’t hesitate to call your doctor.

It is also very important to take care of your emotional wellbeing during this transition period. Many new mothers are surprised by how drained, sad or fragile they feel after giving birth. These feelings are normal, and it is frequently referred to as the baby blues. It is estimated that about 7 in 10 women develop some degree of the baby blues, and it is thought to be caused by both a drop in hormone levels and dealing with the stresses of taking care of a newborn.

While these feelings may be confusing or even scary, they will fade quickly. When you are feeling down, remind yourself that you have taken on a huge responsibility being a mother. Feeling sad, angry or anxious occasionally does not mean that you are a failure as a mother, and it does not mean that you are mentally ill. What it does mean is that your body is adjusting to the changes that follow giving birth.

For a small percentage of women, new motherhood brings feelings of despair, hopelessness, or severe anxiety. This is referred to as postpartum depression. Women who have mood disorders prior to pregnancy or who have a family history of mood disorders are more likely to develop this condition. If you are prone to depression, you may want to discuss this with your doctor or midwife before the baby arrives. There are many good treatments and counselors who can help relieve postpartum depression. Make sure to talk to a medical professional right away if you experience any of the following signs of postpartum depression:

• Baby blues that last for more than a couple of weeks
• Unexplained anger or depression that develops one or two months after delivery
• Feelings of hopelessness or sadness that seem to be getting worse each day
• Inability to sleep, even when tired
• Sleeping most of the time, even when the baby is awake
• Decrease in appetite
• Lack of feelings for your baby
• Panic attacks
• Thoughts of harming yourself or your baby

About the Author:
Julian Hall of GiftBabies.co.uk - The Baby Gifts Company - The Most Unique, Innovative Gift Ideas for Babies, Christening Gifts, Newborn Gifts, Personalized Gifts, Organic Clothing, Nappies, Blankets and New Baby Gifts
Image Source: http://flickr.com/photos/spiritual_marketplace/2294615400/