The Countdown Has Begun
by Jennifer Ruwart | December 7, 2007 at 4:26 PM
Junior with his future best friend, NicholasI am officially 37 weeks pregnant today, which means my baby is considered full-term. Yay! Although I still have a lot of work to do for PulseWire before I go on maternity leave, I am secretly (okay, not so secretly) hoping for an early arrival! I cannot wait to meet the newest addition to our household!
The other day someone asked me if I planned on ingesting the placenta after birth, an act called placentophagy. I had never heard of this in relation to humans, but interestingly enough, MSNBC had an article about it this morning: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22087790/from/ET/
According to wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Placentophagy), those who advocate placentophagy believe that eating the placenta prevents postpartum depression and other pregnancy complications.
I am so curious if anyone has experience with placentophagy or other rituals having to do with the placenta? I found mention of a Hawaiin ritual in a BBC article:
There is a Hawaiian tradition that the placenta should be planted with a tree, which would then grow alongside the child - and parents have been angered when hospitals have obstructed them from taking the placenta.(http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/4918290.stm)
I hope you will share your experiences here!
Comments
I hadn't heard of this,
I hadn't heard of this, Jennifer. Fascinating! I would also like to hear other's thoughts about this practice.
I think planting the placenta next to a tree sounds like a lovely idea.
Corine Milano, Assistant Editor
--"We will surely get to our destination if we join hands."
Aung San Suu Kyi --
I hear you can plant placentas
and then you will have a baby tree.
:-)
CUTE PICTURE!!!
Goldie Davich, PulseWire Online Intern
I've heard of it before;
I've heard of it before; apparently it is pretty nutritious! I like the idea of planting it, though. I planted a sapling when I was in grade school (no placentas) and it is very exciting to see how much it has grown every time I visit my parents.
Ankur Naik, Lead Software Developer
I was part of a gardening
I was part of a gardening club in elementary school and we planted saplings (non-placenta-ed as well) around campus. It was so fun to go back and see them, until the administration bulldozed them to make way for more classrooms. :(
I'm glad you still have your tree to look at!
Corine Milano, Assistant Editor
--"We will surely get to our destination if we join hands."
Aung San Suu Kyi --
Thinking of you on the Countdown . . .
Hi JR -
Listening to music, thinking of you and the *VERY* near arrival of the PulseWire-infused babe... or babe-infused PulseWire (!) now is the REAL countdown! I can't believe it!
Perhaps this Spring we should start a co-journal on the trials and joys of blending new motherhood with entrepreneurial aspirations.
Love,
Jensine Larsen
World Pulse