Placenta Burial

Yesterday before we moved out of our house, where my daughter was in the womb and spent 6 months of her life, we buried my and Anastasia's placenta by our favorite tree on the Oscawana House property, "the baby house".

For some people it sounds very strange the whole concept of holding on to an organ to bury it. I can understand but once you are concious to why I would do such a thing you might consider doing it yourself. Placenta burial is common among cultures and places, such as Kenya, Malaysia, and Nigeria, and even in Thailand.

First of all, the placenta is the organ that your baby grows into and is the only organ that grows in the body to later be discarded. Spiritually, the placenta is considered the baby’s twin, or thought to have its own spirit, and is buried with the appropriate rites. In Mexico, Nepal, and New Zealand, the placenta is honored as the companion or friend of the baby, and is placed in the earth reverently, but is not thought to have a spirit of its own.

What I did was before I was even in labor I asked my midwife and doula to ensure that they don't throw my placenta away with the rest of the hospital organ disposal. After you and your baby growing and being nurtured by it, why in the world would you just throw it away in a garbage can with other organs? Their is sacredness even to a body part, especially one that connects you to your baby. So we put the placenta in a ziplock bag in a small cooler with ice and later kept in on our freezer.

I held the placenta zip-locked placenta in my hand with my 6 month daughter next to me and I shed a tear. I felt the impact of the energy of the placenta, connecting us to her being in utero.

I've read that the placenta is very nourishing, it will help the plant above it grow as it decomposes, returning to the earth. How wonderful that it's going back into the Earth.

In modern Western culture, placenta burial is usually highly personal. It may be based off of the rituals of other cultures, or on the perception of those rituals, but will probably be altered depending on the individual’s preference. It can be planted at the base of a tree or bush, for instance. Some mothers choose to get a special plant for each placenta they bury.

We buried it 3 feet under ground at the house where she lived in since she was born right below a beautiful tree's branches to keep it protected. One day my little butterfly Anastasia can return to her cocoon's remnants in the Earth.

It's been told that where the placenta is buried the person who grew in the placenta can connect to herself by meditating on the grounds of it's burial.

I hope this changed your mind about discarding you and your babies placenta.