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The human afterbirth comprises the placenta, umbilical cord, and fetal membranes. While many of us might never consider it, the placenta played a crucial role in sustaining us in the womb. This round organ, weighing about 0.7 kilograms (1.5 lb), develops alongside the fetus, maintaining a distinct blood flow from the mother. The umbilical cord allows oxygen and nutrients to reach the baby, while waste products return to the mother's system for elimination.
In some cultures, afterbirth is simply discarded as medical waste after birth. In contrast, others hold deep reverence for it, recognizing its importance in nurturing new life. Researchers have also explored the potential medicinal benefits of the placenta, umbilical cord, and fetal membranes. This exploration has resulted in intriguing rituals and uses for human afterbirth. Here are ten of the most captivating applications.
10. Skin Grafts
In 1910, doctors began using fetal membranes, which form the amniotic sac, for skin grafts after research revealed that they were more effective than using skin from cadavers or animals. Further studies showed that applying fetal membranes to burns and ulcers reduced pain and the risk of infection. These membranes were also found to integrate well with the patient's tissue. By the 1940s, fetal membranes had become a key tool in aiding recovery after surgery.
Building on these findings, doctors became increasingly inventive in utilizing the healing benefits of fetal membranes. If you’ve ever experienced a bowel fistula, where a hole forms in the digestive tract, allowing fluids to leak out, you may be intrigued to learn that wrapping the affected area with amniotic membranes post-surgery has been proven to speed up the healing process. In the 1930s, fetal membranes were also used to successfully reconstruct the vagina of a woman suffering from Mullerian agenesis, a condition where the female reproductive system doesn't develop properly. However, the use of amniotic membranes for skin grafts has been phased out since then.
9. Traditional Chinese Medicine
The earliest recorded use of placentas in medicine can be found in a 16th-century text by the herbalist Li Shihzen. He documented using small quantities of dried human placenta to treat a vast range of medical conditions. Given the placenta’s crucial role in supporting fetal development, it's no surprise it has traditionally been employed to treat issues such as insufficient lactation, male infertility, and impotence. However, Li Shihzen also recommended placenta for ailments like seizure disorders, tinnitus, chronic back pain, and persistent coughing.
Although human placenta is sometimes used in traditional Chinese medicine to support the practice of placentophagy (see below), it is not customarily administered to women immediately after birth, nor do they consume preparations made from their own placentas.
8. Lotus Birth
The practice of cutting or clamping the umbilical cord soon after birth can be traced back to medieval Europe in the 12th century. However, many modern obstetricians suggest waiting until the blood flow through the cord has ceased before clamping. This method can help improve a newborn’s hemoglobin levels and increase their iron stores. Lotus birth takes delayed cord clamping a step further.
Lotus birth involves keeping the baby attached to the placenta via the umbilical cord until it naturally detaches. During this time, parents typically carry the placenta in a special pouch or bag. Proponents argue that allowing the baby to remain connected to the placenta even after blood transfer stops offers a gentler transition to life outside the womb and may have potential health benefits. However, many professionals warn that this practice poses a considerable infection risk to the baby, and there’s also the unpleasant downside of a strong, 'meaty' odor as the placenta begins to decompose.
7. Restoring Female Fertility
In certain regions of Western Africa, a woman’s inability to bear children is seen as a tragedy. It is believed that the afterbirth, when used in specific rituals, can promote or restore fertility in women.
After childbirth, burying a woman's placenta and umbilical cord in the earth is believed to restore her fertility and heal her womb from the physical toll of pregnancy and birth. In Ghanaian tradition, there is a belief that infertile women can conceive by urinating on the spot where another woman's placenta has been buried.
6. Placentophagy
Placentophagy refers to the practice of consuming the placenta. Some people believe that the placenta is rich in nutrients that can help a new mother recover from childbirth, boost her milk supply, and prevent postnatal depression. New mothers have come up with various ways to ingest their placentas, from blending them into smoothies with berries to cooking them with shallots and serving them as pâté. The practice of placentophagy often evokes strong reactions, with many people finding the idea too repulsive to consider. But, is eating placenta truly beneficial for health?
The potential health benefits of eating human placenta have not been thoroughly studied, and most of the supporting evidence is based on anecdotal reports. However, consuming placenta carries the risk of viral or bacterial infections for both the mother and her baby. Additionally, studies have shown that human placentas can contain heavy metals and accumulated hormones, even when they have been properly cooked.
5. Spirit Guide Or Guardian Angel
Some cultures believe that the placenta serves as a powerful guardian angel or spiritual guide for the newborn. In Bali, the placenta is considered to be the earthly form of the child’s guardian angel and is treated with great respect, being carefully wrapped in cloth and buried inside a coconut.
In native Icelandic tradition, the placenta is known as fylgia, meaning 'guardian angel.' As such, it is believed that the placenta should not be buried just anywhere, as doing so would deprive the child of their guardian. Instead, the custom is to bury the afterbirth beneath the floor near the mother’s bed so that she walks over it every day. According to this tradition, doing so will bestow upon the child a spiritual protector in the form of an animal that reflects their personality.
4. Birth Control
While some cultures associate the placenta with fertility, others have used it as a means of preventing further pregnancies. In parts of Hungary, there was a tradition where burning the placenta into ashes and giving them to the male partner in a drink was considered a ritual to prevent more children if a woman didn’t want to have any more.
In the Chkalov province of Russia, traditional practices involve using the placenta as a form of birth control. If the placenta is buried with the umbilical cord facing upwards, it is believed that the woman will continue to conceive. However, if she wishes to prevent further pregnancies, she can bury the placenta with the cord facing downwards. This ritual can be repeated multiple times to help control the number of children she bears.
3. Ophthalmology
Although fetal membranes are no longer used for skin grafts, ophthalmologists have been utilizing them for eye disorders for the past two decades. They are effective in treating issues with the cornea, lens, conjunctiva (the membrane that covers the eye), and eyelids. Fetal membranes can assist in tissue regeneration for damaged or deteriorated eyes.
Fetal membranes can also serve as a 'biological bandage,' covering an eye wound. As the tissue heals beneath it, the membrane gradually degrades and eventually disappears. Using fetal membranes instead of other treatments can help reduce inflammation and prevent scar tissue formation.
2. Stem Cell Therapy
In the past, the umbilical cord was discarded in Western culture, as its potential was not understood. However, it is now known that the blood remaining in the cord after birth contains valuable stem cells. These stem cells can generate red and white blood cells, as well as platelets, making them useful in transplants to treat blood diseases like leukemia. Current research is exploring the possibility of using cord blood stem cells for adult treatments as well.
Blood stem cells can also be harvested from donor bone marrow for transplants, but there are significant advantages to using cells from umbilical cord blood. Unlike bone marrow extraction, collecting cord blood is a simple, painless, and non-harmful procedure for both the mother and the baby. Additionally, there is a lower likelihood of the body rejecting stem cells from cord blood compared to those from bone marrow.
1. Cosmetics
Human placentas are rich in proteins and natural enzymes, which can be extracted and used to create compounds such as alkaline phosphatase for use in cosmetic products. These compounds can be included in face creams and serums to stimulate skin cell regeneration or reduce wrinkles, or used in shampoos to strengthen hair.
In 2008, a controversy emerged in the UK when it was revealed that Poole Hospital had been selling donated placentas for use in cosmetics. Some women who donated their placentas had been under the impression, based on the documents they signed, that their donations were intended for medical research. In response, the hospital defended the funds they received for the placentas, calling them 'donations' rather than payments, and claimed the money was used to purchase life-saving equipment.
