Hawaiian parents seek placenta of their child

by Karen Walrond (Subscribe to Karen Walrond's posts) Apr 18th 2006 9:28AM

Categories: Pregnancy & Birth, Health & Safety, Media

From the Sun Journal/Associated Press: Kalehua Krug and his wife, Kihapai, of Hawaii, recently gave birth to their third child. As they had done with their first two children, they asked the doctor if they could be given their daughter's placenta: according to traditional Hawaiian custom, the placenta is consider a part of the child, and the Krugs planned on planting the placenta with a tree, and therefore watching the trees growth to help understand "psychological and spiritual changes" in their daughter.

Unfortunately, the law had changed: under new Hawaiian state law, the placenta can no longer be released to the parents, but instead must be treated as medical waste and destroyed. The reason? Supposedly there's no guarantee what people will actually do with the placenta, as "recipes for dishes containing human placenta are posted on the Internet."

Nonetheless, the dispute has prompted the Hawaiian state legislature to pass a bill allowing the parents to take the placenta home. The bill is now before Governor Linda Lingle, who is reviewing it. If approved, it would be the first such law in the United States.

The placenta has been frozen and stored at the hospital since the Krug's daughter's birth.

"That's what they don't understand," said Kalehua. "This is a part of my child in essence being held captive - kidnapped."

(Thanks to Heather for the tip!)

Source

Comments (10)

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Razib Ahmed 4-18-2006 @ 9:40AM

This is a very sensitive issue and it is a moral dilemma. On the one hand, it is an age old tradition for the people of Hawaii while on the other hand there is every possibility that placenta of children may be used for not so good purposes.

becca 4-18-2006 @ 10:14AM

Supposedly there's no guarantee what people will actually do with the placenta, as "recipes for dishes containing human placenta are posted on the Internet."

I'm unclear (read: uneducated) on what exactly the problem is with consuming placentas...

momma2mingbu 4-18-2006 @ 10:37AM

What "not so good purposes" are we talking about here?

I fully support letting parents keep their child's placenta. We still have one in our freezer waiting to be planted some day. I wish I had kept my first two children's placentas.

I know at least one person who has had "placenta stew" post-partum. There are potential benefits to that for anyone who would want to do it. (Only in a life or death situation for me, thanks!)

Melissa 4-18-2006 @ 10:58AM

Honestly, I don't get it. I think there are so many other areas's in life to be concerned over. Maybe it's the "ick" factor going here for me.

Jenny 4-18-2006 @ 11:14AM

This isn't a "moral dilemma", this is a matter of faith. I thought we still had freedom of religion in this country. If the parents feel it is spiritually important to have the placenta for whatever purpose, they should be able to have it.

I find the whole concept of eating the placenta gross beyond belief, but if someone wanted to do it I'd defend them too. Eating the placenta isn't a hazard to anyone except yourself, and the government should not be involved.

Karen Walrond 4-18-2006 @ 11:17AM

Jenny --

Amen.

K.

Caitlin 4-18-2006 @ 11:20AM

That's a shame, especially since planting the placenta is part of their tradition. I could see maybe not releasing placentas when the baby had the first bowel movement before they were born. (I honestly don't know how this would affect placenta recipes, but it's something that I could see giving the hospital's legal counsel pause.) But I would think those who researched placenta recipes would be more open to doing something else with it in that case, like planting it with a tree.

Brenda 4-18-2006 @ 12:17PM

You should never eat a placenta from a hospital if it has been out of your sight, they are often treated with preservatives and/or cleansers.

That being said if you want to eat your placenta you should be free to make that choice openly. It should just be a part of your birth plan. While I presume there is a chance of trasmitting disease through improper handling/consumption of the placenta, since when do have to be protected from ourselves? Seal it in a biohazard bag and then let people do what they will. Afterall we don't call in hazmat for noosebleeds.

Placentophagia is practised by most mammals and some cultures, the placenta is an important part of Chinese medicine. Unwanted placetas are sometimes tested, processed and sold.

As to the issue at hand: if all they want to prevent the consumption of placentas but allow the burial as dictated by Hawaiian custom the placenta could simply be embalmed. Or if embalming would violate Hawaiian custom they could use the chemical used to mark livestock that is unfit for human consumption that is to be rendered and used in animal/pet feed (which is the bigger eww to me animalswhich have died of unknown causes being fed to my dog or worse introduced back into the food chain)

For more info on Placentophagia:

naturalparenting website:
http://tinyurl.com/n76dh

L. 4-18-2006 @ 1:43PM

Wow, if placentas are considered hazardous medical waste, then I think we need to call in haz-mat teams to properly dispose of poop diapers.

Lauren 4-23-2006 @ 11:10PM

maybe the hospitals could do something to ensure that it isnt used in an "incorrect manner"

I mean - if someone wants to eat it I really dont care - I know that isnt my cup of tea though...ick

Perhaps the hospital (if they're concerned about people eating a placenta treated with preservatives) instead soak it in fertilizer that would help a tree (but then you KNOW someone will eat the darn thing and wind up suing the hospital)

I can see in cases where the mother had an infectious disease that could be spread (HIV/AIDS) that they may not want to release it for liability reasons (even though the virus isnt very transmissible after a few minutes in open air)

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