Midwife: Have you thought about what you wanted to do with your placenta?
Me: (thinking) umm... no, that's your job. I don't care what you do with it. I just want to have this baby.
Me: Umm... what are my options?
Midwife: Well, there are benefits to consumption (which she explained)... some people like to dehydrate and encapsulate it. Some people actually put pieces of it in their smoothie and consume it that way. Some people plant it. There are lots of options...
Me: (Thinking) People eat their placenta... did I hear her right... please don't vomit right here!
Me: No, I have not thought about it but I will discuss it with Andy and let you know. Can you just get rid of it for us?
Midwife: Of course, I just wanted to let you know that there are options.
Me: (thinking) Gross, I will definitely have them get rid of it... no question!
This is why I loved my experience at Rosemary Birthing Home! I was a part of everything that took place in terms of my pregnancy and my daughter's birth. I was given choices and information and was encouraged to do my own research. I was empowered.
After the above convo with my midwife I returned home and did some research... I seriously thought about encapsulating my placenta but decided not to. I learned that humans are rare in the fact that we do not consume our placenta after it's birthed; most mammals do. I asked my sister and brother-in-law if they wanted it for their compost but they declined my offer. I went the next few weeks with my mind made up; I was going to let my birthing team get rid of it along with the other biohazard waste.
Then Mia was born.
And once again we were asked what we were planning on doing with the placenta and we decided...
to plant it!
No comments:
Post a Comment