The Art of Placenta Printing

The other night, while feeding the baby, I was browsing online and found myself in the weird part of the internet. I came across an article about Placenta Printing. I have never heard of this, so I decided to check it out.

Basically, you take the placenta after giving birth and cover it with ink. Place it on a flat surface and press a piece of art paper on top of it. Carefully pull it up and you have a print of your placenta that resembles a tree! Some moms paint it and place it in a frame. Personally, I will stick to the traditional baby book.

Intrigued by this, I went just a bit further into my research. Boy did I open up a whole new world that I didn't even know existed. Turns out, there are a number of people who offer to do this service ( I tell ya, you can make a business out of anything ) and more! Yep, for a price of about $250.00, you can also have what is known as Placenta Encapsulation. Say what! That's right, you put the placenta in a dehydrator, grind it up, and fill capsules to be taken orally ( take two of these and call me in the morning! ) It doesn't just stop there folks, some women do everything from consuming Placenta smoothies, Placenta tea, cooking it, and Dun, Dun, Dunnnnnn.... eating it raw!

The theory, I repeat, theory behind this, is that it can replenish depleted iron, increase energy, increase milk production, promote a faster postpartum recovery, fight off the baby blues, postpartum depression, and much more. For me, I'll stick with the coffee and zoloft ah thank you! I was aware that this is practiced in other parts of the world, such as China. For centuries, many cultures have buried the placenta as a way to honor it. I was ignorant to the fact that it has become a growing trend in today's western culture.

I'm not here to put down anyone who makes the decision to practice this. I just had no idea of the so many things people do with the afterbirth. I have posted a couple of links for you guys to check out if this peaks your interest the way it did mine.

Placenta Services, Human Placentophagy