What does the place look like after childbirth? The mysterious business of doctors! Or what they do with the placenta after childbirth

Some expectant mothers are so concerned about the birth of a baby that they think through literally every nuance: they choose a maternity hospital, an obstetrician-gynecologist, a good ward, collect things that will be needed directly in the hospital... All this so that the birth of a child becomes a pleasant event, and not a nightmare memory.

But few women in labor are concerned about what happens after childbirth to a unique organ called placenta. And it’s completely in vain... Doctors casually slip many women a document to sign that obliges them to give placenta for medical research.

Indeed, in good maternity hospitals, the placenta is first sent for histological examination and then disposed of. But this does not happen in all medical institutions. Each city and maternity hospital has its own laws.

Placenta after birth

The placenta can be sold or even resold for the production of expensive medical and cosmetic products. Therefore, our kids cut the umbilical cord immediately after birth... To preserve the “freshness” of the placenta.

Doing this is strictly prohibited! The thing is that immediately at the moment of birth the baby is in double breathing: first of all, he receives oxygen through the umbilical cord and breathes a little through the lungs.

And doctors cut the umbilical cord immediately after birth, as a result of which the baby does not receive oxygen through the umbilical cord and feels suffocated... At this moment, the child has to take sharp breaths to activate the lungs. It hurts him terribly!

In addition, if the umbilical cord is cut immediately, the baby is deliberately deprived of placental blood, which contains natural protective immunity. You may ask why they do this? And so that in the future medicine can sell the parents of this child expensive vaccinations, pills, medicines and ointments! Nothing personal - just business.

In order not to become a hostage to domestic medicine, we need to discuss in detail birth process with a personal obstetrician-gynecologist. Also, if possible, it is better to take the placenta home after birth and dispose of it yourself.

Not every girl knows before pregnancy and childbirth that the birth process does not end with contractions and the appearance of the baby. There is also a third stage - the birth of a child's place. After childbirth, the placenta is born following the baby. It begins to develop from conception, and the entire period of pregnancy helps the mother and fetus to fully exist.

The placenta is the residual membranes, placenta and umbilical cord. The main role is to protect the child from the external environment. The baby's place accompanies the fetus until birth, and leaves the uterus after the birth of the baby. This is a temporary organ that connects mother and child at the cellular level.

Are the placenta and afterbirth the same thing or not? No, these are completely different concepts in medicine. The placenta is an integral part of the baby's place along with the umbilical cord and membrane.

What does the placenta look like after childbirth:

the placenta is released (a round-shaped formation, in the form of a cake);
It is connected to the child by the umbilical cord, there are two arteries and a vein;
remnants of unborn membranes of the fetal bladder.

The afterbirth appears last during childbirth. Based on the integrity of the child's place, a conclusion is drawn about a successful postpartum period. The organ connects mother and baby long before birth. The birth placenta performs important functions for the fetus’s body: breathing, nutrition, waste removal, protection, hormonal harmony.

gas exchange (fetal blood is saturated with oxygen, and carbon dioxide is given to maternal plasma);
barrier (helps improve immunity, filters harmful substances eaten by the mother, viruses, infections);
trophic (electrolytes, water, nutrients are supplied to the fetus);
excretory (children's place helps eliminate urine and processed substances);
endocrine (produces hormones that have a positive effect on the course of pregnancy and fetal development).

The functions of the organ are necessary for the full development of the child and the correct course of the gestation period. But this is not enough to protect the fetus; the mother must take care of the diet and daily routine, then the baby will be born healthy and on time.

Exile

The birth of the placenta after childbirth occurs at the last stage of delivery. The period passes without the intervention of obstetricians and gynecologists, doctors simply observe. The pulse and amount of lost blood of the mother in labor are monitored.

What does the afterbirth consist of:

from the placenta;
umbilical cord;
membranes.

After several hours and slight blood loss (no more than 250 grams), the baby's place begins to be born. The midwife must control the bladder and empty it in time. Urine causes retention of parts of the placenta in the uterine cavity, which is dangerous for the woman in labor.

When the bleeding becomes too severe or the baby's place does not come out on its own, it is removed manually. If the placenta does not come out after childbirth, or a small part remains in the woman’s body, this will lead to infection, bleeding and other complications of the postpartum period.

How the placenta comes out after childbirth:

signs of separation begin to be seen;
the remaining part of the umbilical cord comes out;
The placenta and particles of membranes are born.

How can you tell if the placenta has come out after childbirth? After the baby is born, a baby's place should appear, which consists of the placenta, umbilical cord and membrane. Only if it is intact can we say that the organ has come out completely.

Is it painful to give birth to an afterbirth? This procedure does not cause pain, because the threshold during this period is very high. Don’t worry about possible discomfort; everything will happen quickly and almost imperceptibly.

Expulsion methods

If the placenta remains after childbirth, and the woman is in normal condition, expulsion can be postponed. The obstetrician must wait at least 2 hours for spontaneous discharge before using external methods of elimination.

Schroeder's sign. According to the method, the height of the uterine fundus changes. The uterus becomes flatter, curves to the right, and the fundus rises to the navel.

Alfeld's sign. The umbilical cord, which is visible from the vagina after cutting, lengthens and then descends. This is how the placenta exits into the uterus.

Mikulicz's sign. This method of determining imminent expulsion is the desire to push, but the symptom is not always felt. When you feel this way, the placenta is in the vagina.

Küster-Chukalov sign. If, when you press on the pubic part, the umbilical cord lengthens, and in the absence of physical impact it does not tighten back, the placenta is already on the way.

Some methods are barbaric, but in certain circumstances they help prevent a woman in labor from sepsis or bleeding. External methods for extracting separated placenta are used in extreme cases, when the baby’s place cannot be removed otherwise. A positive quality of the procedure is the absence of tension for a tired woman in labor.

According to Genter:

the obstetrician stands at the side of the woman in labor;
puts the phalanges of the fingers into a lock;
places them edge-on at the expected location of the uterine fundus;
presses the uterus and pulls down towards the vagina.

Discharge of placenta according to Abuladze:

a light massage of the uterus is performed;
hold the peritoneum by the lower fold;
the woman in labor must push.

Credet-Lazarevich method:

the uterine fundus is advanced into the middle;
massage the uterus, stimulating the organ to contract;
squeeze with one hand;
the other hand pushes out the remains.

All actions are performed only by an obstetrician-gynecologist who has experience in manipulations. Only then will there be no risk of injury to the woman.

Child seat delay

Often after the baby is born, the afterbirth does not appear. This is prevented by the characteristics of the mother's body. It happens that it takes longer to emerge (acceptable norm is 2 hours after delivery). Then the woman in labor is left in the delivery room for 1.5-2 hours without making any physical effort to push out the baby’s place. If the placenta does not appear, the obstetrician proceeds to external methods of expulsion. The delay is provoked by a filled bladder or weakness of the woman’s labor.

Why does the placenta not come off after childbirth:

expulsion is delayed due to physiology;
due to growth into the uterus;
through premature placental abruption.

Placenta strangulation is a delay in the release of the fetal place due to insufficient contraction of the uterus or abdominal muscles. This condition occurs due to improper external influence on the exit of the placenta or one of the doctors pulled the umbilical cord ahead of time. In this situation, the woman in labor is administered relaxants and attempts are made to remove the residue manually.

A common reason for the retention of a child's place is growth into the uterine cavity. This occurs due to the attachment of the placenta to the uterus being too low, so the chorionic villi grow into the myometrium and the female organ. As a result, the afterbirth is not born on its own. The pathology causes bleeding during delivery. In this case, external separation methods are used.

Placental abruption occurs due to premature aging. For this reason, the afterbirth becomes either very thin (less than 2cm) or too thick (more than 5cm). A thin organ will not be able to perform its functions fully, so the fetus is born dead or with mental pathologies. Too much growth causes neoplasms on the placenta, as well as inflammation. Pathology causes complications in the postpartum period.

Delayed placenta is dangerous due to the following problems:

postpartum bleeding is likely;
large blood loss during the birth process, which provokes hemorrhagic shock;
possible changes in the surface of the uterus;
inflammation of the entire body of the woman in labor or female organs;
leads to the death of a woman.

A pregnant woman should try to protect herself during the postpartum period. To do this, you need to give up abortions, be aware of chronic diseases, and treat inflammation of the genitourinary system in a timely manner. During pregnancy, it is necessary to avoid contact with viral infections if possible and adhere to a healthy lifestyle.

Extraction during caesarean section

It is clear that after a natural birth, the placenta comes out through the vagina after contraction of the uterus, because this is how nature intended it to be. But with a caesarean section this does not happen, since the baby is removed through an incision in the uterine cavity. In this situation, the contents are removed by the operating doctor with his hands. Next, the obstetrician-gynecologist checks the integrity of the placenta and the absence of ingrowth of the fetal place into the uterus.

Remains of the placenta in the uterine cavity lead to serious health problems for the mother in labor, such as inflammation or suppuration of the internal genital organs. If there are particles of membranes or placenta inside, the woman will be cleaned by mechanical scraping. This is very painful and dangerous after a cesarean section; the uterine cavity is already traumatized by postpartum sutures that have not yet healed.

The consequences can be the most unpredictable, including sepsis. In the postpartum period, with surgical delivery there is a high risk of infection of internal organs. Before agreeing to surgery, a woman should be as sure as possible that there will be no consequences.

After removing the placenta, the obstetrician makes an assessment and sends it for research. If the indicators are normal, in maternity hospitals, at the request of the mother, the organ is given to the woman in labor.

Before discharge from the maternity ward, an ultrasound is performed to exclude particles in the uterus. Only then can you be sure that nothing is left inside.

Diagnostics

After expulsion of the fetal site, the obstetrician must ensure the integrity of the organ. There are ways to do this (air, milk, swimming, scalding), but none of them give accurate indicators. Nowadays only the Mikeladze method is used, according to which the placenta is placed on a special glass lamp with the maternal side up so that the edges of the placenta and blood vessels are clearly visualized.

If there is a defect in the placenta, light spots are detected, which requires additional tests. Next, the child’s place is sent for histology, where the organ will be thoroughly studied and a conclusion will be made.

The placenta is received and examined by the obstetrician who delivers the baby, it is weighed and the indications are entered into the birthing woman’s chart. If a bad placenta with ruptures in the membranes is detected, the woman in labor is carefully examined and the uterus is cleaned using a special spoon (curette).

Histological analyzes of the fetal site help ensure that it has completely emerged from the uterus. After conducting research, the doctor decides what to do with the afterbirth: dispose of it or dispose of it at the woman’s request.

The conclusion on the study is given to the woman in labor along with a card for submission to the antenatal clinic at her place of residence. This will help coordinate the actions of the gynecologist in subsequent pregnancies.

The fate of the fertile place

Where do the placenta go after childbirth? It is disposed of or given to the parents of the newborn. In maternity hospitals, doctors are increasingly suggesting that mothers take the baby’s place home after childbirth if the analysis of the placenta does not indicate the presence of infections or bacteria.

Eating. Some peoples feed the afterbirth to the baby or dry it as a relic of the child's first home. Modern women use the organ for other purposes. In private clinics they add placenta to cocktails. It is believed that such a smoothie makes a woman fertile and young.

Contraction of the uterus. The last one helps the organ contract faster. In addition, the tissues of the fetal place contain substances that promote milk production and prevent postpartum depression.

Manufacturing of drugs. Some women make pills from the placenta. The drug is taken within 48 hours after birth, otherwise the effectiveness of the substances will decrease significantly. These products help to establish breastfeeding, improve well-being after childbirth, and also return the uterus to its previous size. It happens that mothers in labor sell postpartum placenta. It’s strange, but there are buyers for such a product.

How much does a postpartum placenta cost? Approximate price from 20 to 50 dollars. The organ is used to prepare cosmetics aimed at rejuvenating the body.

What is the placenta after childbirth in women - it is a temporary organ that protects the fetus from infections from the inside. It helps the child eat, breathe and get rid of processed substances. After birth, it is important to make sure that the baby’s place is intact, because even a small particle inside the uterus costs a woman’s health.

Many women naively believe that the process of childbirth is exclusively contractions, pushing and the immediate birth of the baby. However, this is not the case, since the birth process consists of several stages that the mother may not be aware of.

After the baby, so to speak, has left the mother's womb, another stage begins - the separation of the placenta. If a woman has given birth for the first time, this stage is unknown to her and difficult to imagine. But this is no reason to worry, since the team of doctors delivering the baby is obliged to make sure that everything is fine with the mother.

What is afterbirth and how does it come out?

The placenta consists of the placenta, umbilical cord and remaining particles of amniotic membranes. These components were formed during the first trimester of pregnancy, playing a vital role for the life of the baby.

With their help, the baby was protected from external influences of unfavorable substances, oxygen and micronutrients were supplied through them, and the baby’s waste products were removed.

After birth, the baby leaves the mother’s womb, and the need for these formations disappears. In order for a woman’s body to fully recover after childbirth, it is necessary to remove the remnants of the placenta and umbilical cord from the uterine cavity. Due to the fact that this process is carried out last, it acquired the name “afterbirth”.

What happens when the afterbirth does not come out on its own?

In principle, nature provides that all remains leave the mother’s womb on their own, but if this does not happen, the placenta has not separated on its own, then doctors are forced to forcibly separate it from the abdominal cavity of the woman in labor. The natural birth process means that at the birth of a baby, the umbilical cord, which has ceased to fulfill its intended purpose, is cut. Thus, the last carnal connection between the baby and the mother is completely broken, and the uterus, meanwhile, continues to contract, becoming smaller.

These processes contribute to the rapid release of the placenta. Meanwhile, the doctor presses on the lower abdomen to check whether the genitals are ready to push out tissue. In the case when the umbilical cord does not retract back, it means that the placenta will begin to come out right now. This is absolutely painless for the mother in labor, so there is no need to worry about it.

Uterine births continue to occur, but the woman often does not feel them. Then the doctor asks the woman in labor to push again, after which the placenta comes out within a few minutes.

If the birth took place via cesarean section, then due to damage to the organs, the uterus does not contract as actively, so the release of the placenta and umbilical cord may not occur. In this case, the afterbirth is removed manually by doctors using special tools.

After the placenta comes out or is removed by doctors, specialists examine it for damage, check whether the edges of the membranes are smooth, without breaks, and carefully examine the placenta and its structure. These actions play a fundamental role in the conclusion about how the pregnancy and childbirth went.

After doctors have examined the afterbirth, it is disposed of. Today, in extreme cases, he can be given to his mother so that she can independently decide his fate, but often the medical staff deals with him at their own discretion.

However, doctors may not allow you to take postpartum tissue with you, since this is prohibited by law. Nowadays, the fact that the mother wants to take the placenta has not gained popularity; often no one even thinks about it.

If the parents decide to take postpartum tissue, it is best to determine in advance what will happen to it next. This, of course, depends on the couple's motivations and personal beliefs.

It is quite possible that they will simply take the afterbirth in a bag and then throw it away, but then you should not take it from the maternity hospital at all. In our country, the possibility of preserving stem cells, which are extracted from the umbilical cord and subsequently stored in a frozen state, is limited.

In Western countries, this practice is quite common and is actively in demand among young families. After separation and freezing, the stem cells are stored in separate boxes in a specialized room. With their help, you can later help save a child’s life if serious illnesses occur.

One way or another, if the mother decides to preserve the afterbirth, she should find in advance an institution that carries out this, otherwise after giving birth it is already pointless to organize this issue, since the afterbirth will be unsuitable for further preservation within a couple of hours.

Throughout pregnancy, the placenta develops along with the baby. This organ does not receive special attention from the mother. After the birth of a child, many women do not notice the delivery of the placenta at all. However, this is a very significant organ thanks to which the child develops.

We will tell you in this article what happens to the placenta after childbirth and what functions it performs.

The placenta is the placenta (afterbirth) that connects the body of mother and child. The placenta is attached to the body of the uterus by blood vessels; it is connected to the body of the child with the help of the umbilical cord. Inside the umbilical cord there are 2 arteries that carry blood from the fetus to the placenta. And 1 vein, which serves to transport oxygen and nutrients from the placenta to the fetus.

The afterbirth performs certain functions throughout pregnancy:

Gas exchange (delivery of oxygen to the fetus). Oxygen molecules pass through the mother's blood to the fetus, carbon dioxide is transported in the opposite direction.
Delivery of nutrients to the child: water, vitamins, electrolytes. Removal of fetal metabolic products through the mother's blood.
Production of hormones to support pregnancy and lactation.
Fetal immune defense function. The placenta passes maternal antibodies through itself, which form the child’s immune defense.

The baby's place develops along with the child and leaves the uterus after the birth of the baby.

Birth of the placenta

5-40 minutes after the birth of the child, the placenta is born. Contractions of the uterus lead to a decrease in the placental area to which the baby's place was attached. After several contractions, the placenta separates from the wall of the uterus, and the obstetrician asks the woman in labor to push slightly. The placenta is born painlessly and fairly quickly.

After removing the placenta, the doctor carefully examines it. If a violation of the integrity of the placenta is detected, this may mean that pieces of membranes remain in the uterine cavity. They must be urgently removed from the uterine cavity to prevent the development of the inflammatory process. Manual examination of the uterus is performed under anesthesia.

The progress of pregnancy can be judged by how the afterbirth looks. Infectious or inflammatory processes will be visible in the condition of the child's place. This is important information for neonatologists and pediatricians who monitor the health of the newborn.

What happens to the placenta after childbirth

Most women don’t even think about the fate of the baby’s place after childbirth. In fact, nothing special happens. The placenta is a biological material that must be disposed of in accordance with the requirements of a given medical institution.

In some cases, the placenta is preserved as prescribed by a doctor. This may be necessary in case of pathological childbirth. And in the event of a stillbirth, the placenta must be submitted for histological examination to determine the causes of the incident.

Video: Histology of the placenta

Sometimes, with the consent of the mother, the afterbirth is preserved for laboratory research. The woman can take it home if she wants. Collection of umbilical cord blood and stem cells is a rather expensive procedure, but it is possible by prior arrangement.

Some cultures have a special attitude towards the placenta after childbirth. For example, according to one of the signs, the placenta is buried under a tree in the courtyard of a house. People believe that the tree, as a symbol of strength, will bring good health and happiness to the child. Whether this is true or not depends on what a person believes.

There is a legend that if you eat the placenta after childbirth, it helps to establish lactation and quickly restores a woman’s strength after childbirth. The placenta is essentially a piece of human flesh. Perhaps in ancient times, when the only source of meat for lunch was a killed mammoth, this was relevant. But now a woman can easily organize her diet without this.

In Moscow maternity hospitals, it is not uncommon for doctors to ask parents if they want to take the placenta with them. In a home birth, the placenta remains with the baby and the parents have to decide what to do with it next. Here are 5 ways to use your placenta after giving birth. In traditional cultures, the placenta is considered the baby's first home, its spiritual twin and even relative. The placenta is buried in a special place, dried, eaten, and even the first teether for the baby is made from the umbilical cord. Robin Lim, a midwife at the Balinese Bumi Sehat Center, wrote an entire book about the meaning of the placenta, where she collected rituals from all over the world. In ancient Rus', the placenta was buried under a tree or in the foundation of a house. The modern tradition is to leave the placenta in the maternity hospital and forget about it immediately after birth. But no one is stopping you, if you wish, from coming up with a little ritual for your family and preserving the placenta for yourself and your newborn baby.

Take and eat your placenta

This is traditionally done in some parts of Indonesia, the Czech Republic and Morocco. It is believed that a woman who eats her placenta will be fertile. In Mexico, the mother is given the umbilical cord to chew, and in Bali, midwives from Bumi Sehat offer the mother in labor to eat a piece of raw placenta immediately after birth to prevent postpartum hemorrhage. Why do some people hate to think about it?

The placenta is the most real part of the human body. It is made from human tissue and looks like a piece of fresh flesh. In our society, the ban on eating one’s own kind is one of the most ancient. Cases of cannibalism terrify us. Therefore, the very thought of eating placenta makes many people disgusted. It's almost like tasting a human body. It looks like Sorokin. This is why placenta encapsulation is becoming increasingly common. It seems to be essentially the same, but swallowing pills is a completely different matter; this is quite traditional and in our society is associated with treatment and benefits. Sometimes 2-3 teaspoons of placenta are added tosmoothie(with banana, berries and coconut water), sometimes swallowed like this. There is even a special service for preparing smoothies right in the birth box; usually parents include it in their birth plan and pay about $20-30.

Some people prepare a real dish from the placenta. We came across recipes for lasagna and spaghetti bolognese made from placenta. In 1998, chef Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall made placenta pate on his cooking show. And in 2006, Tom Cruise promised to arrange a feast with the placenta after his wife Katie Holmes gave birth. With the exception of whales, almost all mammals in nature do exactly this with the placenta - no, they don’t cook lasagna, they simply take it and eat it whole. Besides the obvious nutritional value,P Plus oxytocin, which helps the uterus contract and is responsible for milk production, and zinc, a mineral that helps prevent postpartum depression. At the moment, there is no reliable scientific data on the benefits or harms of placentophagy. But some researchers became interested in the issue and began studying the effect and composition of the placenta.

Make pills from placenta

It's almost like eating, but in a more culturally acceptable way. Over the past 5 years, placenta encapsulation has become increasingly popular. In 2013, actress January Jones (Mad Men's Betty Draper) praised placenta capsules as a treatment for postpartum depression. There are two main ways to do encapsulation:

By analogy with Chinese medicine (where the placenta has long been used as medicine), dry the placenta along with herbs
in the tradition of raw foodists, use only a dehydrator that does not heat the placenta above 40’

Only fresh placenta (no more than 48 hours) that has been stored in the refrigerator is suitable for encapsulation. The output is 100-200 capsules, which can be stored there, in the refrigerator. The process itself is most often undertaken by midwives, doulas or placenta encapsulation specialists. Everything takes about 2-3 days and costs $150-250. Sometimes mothers carry out encapsulation themselves (the process is in the PHOTO). To do this, you need a dehydrator, a device for packaging placenta powder into capsules, and the capsules themselves. You can order special kits on the Internet (about $30), however, you need to get a dehydrator in advance or use an oven. Opinions about placenta pills are very different. Here's a heartfelt review from Jill Fehrenbacher, founder and publisher of hipster mom-and-baby site Inhabitots, about her experience with placenta encapsulation. Here's a post of regret from Nancy Redd, a journalist and Harvard graduate who managed to become Miss Virginia in 2010 and receive a bunch of awards for her work in the field of women's health. She writes that taking pills with her own placenta, on the contrary, provoked a deterioration in her mood after childbirth.

Commonly among the benefits of taking dried placenta capsules are:describe the following:

Helps avoid postpartum depression
improves lactation
restores hormonal balance after childbirth
increases iron levels in the body
promotes faster cessation of postpartum discharge
gives energy and strength in the first weeks after childbirth

Bury the placenta next to the plant

This tradition has also existed for quite a long time. In Hawaii, the placenta is planted under a tree. which in the future becomes the child’s tree, and in Sudan the placenta is considered a “spiritual double” and is buried closer to the place of the offspring’s desired job (for example, next to the hospital for the future doctor). Actor Matthew McConaughey did just that with the placenta of his newborn son Levi - he planted it under a tree in an orchard. You can order a special set for rooting the placenta online: a bag, a tree tag and a book for your baby about the placenta under his own plant. There is also a whole section about types of trees and their symbolic meaning. Probably, the Druid horoscope is also quite suitable for these purposes. Important! The placenta should be buried deep enough (at least 40 cm), as it can damage the root system of the tree, and local predators can smell it. You can put the placenta in the freezer and wait six months or a year, then it will become less active.

Most often, the placenta is buried in a place where the family will return for many years. If there is no such place yet, you can choose the option for modern nomads and plant the placenta in a large flower tub. Given the northern climate, this method allows you to expand the choice of totem plants. Last year, at the Morning Star Sisters' workshop, one such placenta was planted from a refrigerator in a tub with an orange tree. The sister sang Indian blessings, and most of those present (including the author) even shed tears while participating in this ritual.

Make an imprint with the placenta

There is a way for creative people leave a print of the placenta as a souvenir. To do this, just take a large sheet of paper and beautifully lay the placenta on it. Sometimes the print is made without paint - with the blood that remains on the placenta. In this case, you need to choose acid-free paper for archival storage. If you use gouache, acrylic or watercolor for the print, then regular drawing paper is also quite suitable. The placenta is applied to the sheet on the side where the umbilical cord is attached (this is the baby's side). Then the print looks like a tree with a wide crown and tenacious roots.

Make a placenta decoration

Pieces of dried placenta or umbilical cord are turned into beads or ready-made rings and pendants using epoxy resin. Those who know how to handle such things can try making jewelry themselves. The rest will have to figure out a way to send the placenta to the artisans who create such jewelry. For example, in Beyond the Willow, where they promise to build such a bracelet within 2-4 weeks. There are also rings made from breast milk, but more about them another time! In Moscow, I know one mother-jeweler who will not be at all surprised by your desire.

What else could you do with the placenta?

In Yemen, the placenta is placed on the roof of the family home, where it is eaten by birds. It is believed that this helps strengthen the loving bond between parents.