Mom eats placenta

[MalahatTwo7]

I would normally say EEEWWWWW, but then considering that most other mammals, like cows etc eat the placenta after birth......

Mom says eating placenta helped cure depression

By KRISTY BROWNLEE, SUN MEDIA

Last Updated: 24th November 2009, 1:53pm

When people discover Sherwood Park mother Nadia Houle ate her placenta to cure postpartum depression, their eyes bulge and their jaws drop.

But the 30-year-old, who suffered from the condition after the birth of her first child, was willing to do whatever it took not to feel that way again.

Houle, a doula and mother of three, had the placenta steamed and dried with herbs and put into capsules, which she ingested.

She's now a believer in the scientifically unproven practice, claiming she had no symptoms of depression after consuming the placentas from her last two pregnancies.

It's part of a trend toward keeping the nutrient-rich organ, which nourishes the growing fetus, instead of disposing of it after the baby is born.

Placentas are consumed in different ways -- recipes for how to use it are even posted on the Internet. {Ok... EEEWWWW}

Some mothers instead opt to bury the placenta under a tree or plant as a symbol of the birth of their child.

Amanda Whiting, an Edmonton mother of two, saved her firstborn's placenta in a Cool Whip tub in the freezer before the family buried it in their backyard and planted a maple tree over it.

"I wanted to keep it because I felt it had brought so much life to my child, that I just wanted to extend that life," said Whiting, 31.

Whiting said it wasn't easy to convince staff at Sturgeon Community Hospital, where she delivered her baby, to let her keep the placenta.

"They told me that they had never had such a ridiculous request before. It's one of those things where you get very, very extreme reactions."

But they did end up giving her the goods in a bucket.

Dr. Chris Hoskins, chief of obstetrics and gynecology at Royal Alexandra Hospital, said they don't discourage women from taking home their placentas, but added the request is rare.

Outside of the western world, the placenta is an important organ. In Indonesia, it's regarded as the child's guardian angel and buried, while in China the placenta is dried and consumed to increase energy.

KRISTY.BROWNLEE@SUNMEDIA.CA

[WD6956]

Well at least it was dried in capsule form. It's not like she was eating the thing raw off the operating room floor which the article headline implies!

[doughesson]

Is anyone else old enough to remember the "Placenta Helper" skit on Saturday Night Live back when it was funny?I think it aired in 1978 but I could be wrong.Being 13,I wasn't allowed to watch it per my dad's orders.

[EastKyFF]

According to this, it never aired.

[doughesson]

According to this, it never aired.

Yes,my sister got the script book before leaving for college and we all read that thing.That's where I got it from.I think Lorraine Newman and Chevy Chase were cast in it.But,I could be wrong.
Like I've said in other postings,Saturday Night Live was much funnier back then.