Ok, having a baby can make one enthusiastic about life. It’s amazing. All of a sudden there’s a new little person around who seems to have come from nothing-well, we know where they’ve come from but, you get it. It seems pretty magical.
And so, it makes sense that new parents might want to treat the organ that made it possible for their new young’un to grow into a new life with respect. I get it. Placentas deserve our attention.
But is there a line that separates reasonable placenta-respect from irrational placental-obsession?
Some people really know how to get into the swing of things. It can be fun. If you haven’t heard about them yet, here are five ways new parents are immortalizing the organ that fed their infant in the womb:
1) Placenta Pendants
Why not wear your placenta on the outside? This nifty jewelery gives the wearer the chance to encapsulate the tissue as a keepsake in material that can be worn forever.
2) Placenta Food
Mammals have been eating their placentas for time eternal and there is a solid nutritional reason for this: they are chock full of nutrients. In fact, some believe placentas are so fortifying that, for humans, eating it can help lessen the baby blues, boost a mother’s breast milk and balance her energy.
True or fiction? There’s no concrete science behind it, but why not eat it all in a delicious lunch wrap. Or, turn it into a smoothie or a pill.
3) Placenta Art
There’s always room for more art. Some new parents love making prints with the placenta. Hang it on the wall as a conversation piece!
4) Placenta T-Shirt
For those who are looking for something a bit more casual, a t-shirt might be the way to go. This blogging dad has some straightforward instructions for making your own t-shirt print from the placenta.
5) Placenta Leather
For those who are a little more rustic, rawhide may be more your style. Alison Brierley is a British artist who works with a wide variety of media, including placentas, and she can turn your placenta into leather.
She has the skill and knowledge to turn the organ into a piece of rawhide, for decorative purposes or something of use, like a drum. Time to keep the beat with the gift of life.
All kidding aside, whatever your vision for your placenta, the phrase, “if there’s a will, there’s a way,” seems to apply. And if none of these modern methods for commemorating birth seem to gel with your outlook, there’s always the tried and true method of burying the organ in the backyard, and planting a new tree in the exact spot, as a living measurement of the birth of your child.
Or, wait a minute-a living measurement. That’s your child, right? Which brings us around to the elephant in the room: they (children) can make an excellent commemoration of the placenta, too. They are free, interactive, ever-changing and full of life.
But it takes all kinds-truly. Whatever you choose to do with your placenta- make a mural with it, a house or leave it at the hospital-is the right thing for you.
Photo Credit: Syda Productions/Shutterstock
