What to do with your placenta after a home birth

Your placenta is an amazing organ. For a start you made it and it has also kept your baby with the supply of oxygen and nutrients it needs to enable them to develop and grow! Not only does it give your baby all it needs it also removes waste products from the baby’s blood, all done via the umbilical cord. Amazing right! Many women assume that placenta is routinely taken away from them and disposed of. The truth is, the placenta is yours to do what you want with (with a little bit of guidance).

What to do with the placenta

However, you birth your baby, whether it be at home, hospital, abdominally or vaginally, you have a few options around what you can do with your placenta. It can be disposed of, buried, encapsulated, you can have a lotus birth, or if you are undecided you can freeze it until you decide what you want to do with it in your on time. Its important for you to decide what to do with your placenta so it can be incorporated into your birth preferences so your midwife can facilitate your wishes. We are all different and we will want to do different things with our placentas, its important to know the options, after all it has been part of your body for 9 months.

Get your midwife to discard it

You can ask your midwife to dispose of your placenta. As your placenta is human tissue a black bin liner and the domestic or council bins is not option. The midwife will bag your placenta and will be taken to the nearest hospital for incineration, if you have birthed at home. If you have birthed in hospital they will bag it and take it to the appropriate space for it to be collected for incineration. If this is your option, don’t forget you can request to see your placenta if you want to. Get the midwife to show how it has encapsulated and nourished your baby for 9 months, honestly, it is FASCINATING! Get pictures too!

Bury it

There are many beautiful beliefs in different cultures with regards to burying the placenta. In a lot of cultures, they believe burying the placenta connects their child to their homelands, heritage and ancestors. Some bury the placenta, then plant trees or crops on top to symbolise the child will never go hungry, will have strength, or have signs of fertility. However, if you choose to bury your placenta it is important that it is done as close to birth as possible, as the placenta will start to deteriorate. It can either be kept in a cool box for 48 hours or frozen, if the burial isn’t looking imminent. It is important that it is buried at least 1 metre down in order to stop it being scavenged by animals and wildlife.

Turn your placenta into capsules

The thought of eating your placenta makes a lot of women recoil in horror but some research suggests that consuming your placenta comes with benefits such as increased milk supply, mood improvement and decreased postpartum depression and fatigue. A more palatable way to consume your placenta may be to have it turned into tablets or pill you can take daily, this is known as encapsulation. If this is something that interests you, then have a look around at the different companies and what they offer. You can check reviews, get advice, it is important you use a reputable company. The company will let you know how to store your placenta, some will even come and pick it up straight after birth. Whatever their process is to encapsulate it for you, ensure you communicate this with you midwife so can facilitate this for you.

Have a lotus birth

A lotus birth is the practise of keeping the placenta intact and attached to umbilical cord until it naturally dries and falls off, usually around 3-10 days. During this time the placenta is stored in two ways. Either with the placenta laid on top of absorbent gauze or a nappy, in a lightweight, breathable bag, or by using salt. The salt is mixed with rosemary or lavender to help with odours, prevent infection and bacteria growth.  The gauze/nappy or salt is changed every day to prevent bacteria growth.  Benefits of a lotus birth include those of optimal cord clamping which improve neonatal oxygenation levels, improve haemoglobin and ferritin levels, and decrease anaemia rates during infancy. Other benefits include undisturbed bonding with baby, a preservation of naturalness of birth. A lotus birth is helps to enforce a lying-in period and can act as a visual reminder to excited relatives that baby is still new as it is still attached to the placenta, meaning this can prevent the baby being passed around. Having a lotus birth can mean it is difficult to dress baby so naturally skin to skin occurs and breastfeeding may be easier to establish. If you do need to dress baby remember to use a onesie with poppers so there is an opening for the baby’s cord.  When the cord does detach from the baby the placenta will need to be disposed of correctly, usually it is buried, but arrangements can be made for it to be incinerated.

Freeze it until you decide

If you can’t decide what to do with your placenta you can freeze it until you have made the decision. Just ensure it is stored away from food and either in a clearly labelled tub or double ziplocked bags. As mentioned before, your midwife will be happy to talk you through this amazing organ and take pictures for you.

Placenta art

Your placenta can be washed and painted giving you your own unique work of art. This is self-sourced and you will need to do your research into what you want and reputable companies. They will advise you on how to store your placenta and transport it to them to create you masterpiece.

Here, at Private Midwives we are very passionate about homebirth and labour and welcome discussing your options with you. If you would like to know more about your pregnancy and birth options feel free to call us on 0800 3800 579