What is the fate of your placenta
Modern Science and Postnatal Cultural rituals - Practice shared by Dr. Kishan Raghuvanshi
Written by Pushplata Bhardwaj
The 9 am ritual of Doctors For You begins with an online presentation of the Project's Progress. Every Monday, it is the turn of tracking developments of the rural projects. I usually log in to attend these presentations. One of the impact story shared during a rural project presentation by Dr. Kishan Raghuvanshi (State Incharge of Rajasthan) aroused my curiosity to know more about the Postnatal cultural practices. He shared one incident practice that came into light at CHC Lasadiya after completing a successful delivery of a baby to a 25 year old mother. He elaborated in a prescription way -
“A female named Lasudi of age 25 was in labor before time. It was her first delivery. All the required tests were taken, she was found petite. PROM pregnancy complications were there. Doctors for You staff gave their best and successfully delivered baby on 2nd December 2021. The DFY team took good care of the mother and the baby.”
Dr. Kishan continued - “I was surprised when a mother who just delivered a baby, asked us to give her placenta to take home with her. She shared that they have to perform a ceremonial ritual of placenta burial. Being a doctor of medicine, It was a bit unusual and surprising for me. I talked to other localities about this and found it to be a normal practice in Rural Rajasthan. More insight is needed to find the basis of this practice. ”
The Placenta
Placenta is a life support system - physical, metabolic and immunological for both mother and baby while the baby is in the womb. A connecting medium for mother and baby. It is variably defined. In clinical system it is considered as medical waste but hold significance in postnatal cultural practices.
Management of Placenta in Hospital System
Ministry of Health and Family Welfare Government of India - Guidelines for Antenatal Care and Skilled Attendance at Birth by ANMs/LHVs/SNs underlies the process of disposition of placenta in a safe and culturally appropriate manner. Either to put the placenta into a leak-proof bag containing bleach or Incinerate the placenta or bury it at least 10 meters away from a source of water in a pit.
Cultural management of Placenta
A study published in 2010 by the University of Nevada, Daniel Benyshek and Young on Cultural analysis on handling of Plancenta takes account of around 179 cultures around the world. It highlighted culturally appropriate placenta rituals are followed by 109 communities and 169 disposal methods of placenta.
Prevalence of Placenta burial practices around the world
Indonesian Island of Bali is a tourist attraction for its unique placenta tradition. Here, placenta is enclosed in a coconut shell and hanged from a tree in the village graveyard. The village of Bayung Gede is very famous for this. 100’s of placenta can be seen hanging on trees in this village.
In Turkey, considering the role parents wish their child to take up or profession to choose, a burial site is chosen. In Malaysia and Filipinas, to seek that child grows into a smart, hardworking person or student, mothers placenta is buried with books and pencils under the doorway of the house. South Asian Hmong people bury placenta at home in belief of lifelong spiritual connection of a person with the placenta. It is beleived that when a Hmong person dies, the soul returns to its birthplace and reunites with its placenta and joins ancestors. For New Zealand Maori people placenta denotes link between the baby and the earth. In Nepal, variations are found in different tribe - Gurung women bury the placenta under the tree, while Newari and Tamang bury at a junction or under the road.
In Ukraine the tradition is opposite, the placenta must not be buried in any place where it could be stepped over.
Placenta burial indigenous practices holds ecological consciousness and psychological meaning
Cultural discourses constructs the placenta as an important and meaningful part of childbearing. Placenta rituals can be an enriching addition to birth experience of womens giving spiritual meaning of embodying the link between women, child and transformation of pregnancy and birth.
These rituals can relect to function as an anxiety-releasing mechanism representing the completion of a birthing cycle and the final separation of a child from the mother's body or to say farewell to pregnancy on moving into motherhood or sometimes pacifying miscarriage experiences/greving process by personifying placenta and legitimising the functions of burial. The discursive link between placenta burial and death becomes memorial.
The narratives around ceremonies of placenta burials is a kind to give back to mother earth, restoring the social and biological equilibrium disrupted by the birth process considering themselves a part of universe, etc. It draws attention towards ecological consciousness among people and solemnity to handle human remains with attention considering it can be potentially contagious to others.
Superstition linked with Postnatal Placenta burial Rituals
University of Arizona published book “Red Medicine - Traditional Indigenous Rites of Birthing and Healing” notes that in Indonesia, placenta is a considered twinning of child and placenta/child’s elder sibling; In Egypt placenta is believed to a child secret helper; Icelandic and Balinedes placenta contemplates pacent as child's guardian angel; Ibo of Nigeria and Ghana consider it a dead twin of the live child; for Bolivian Aymara and Quecha people placenta has its own spirit.
In some traditions it is believed that improper handling of the placenta will affect the fate of the mother and child - placenta’s condition is an omen for child's abilities or health. Few links Placenta burial ritual with child growth, mother fertility. The believe surpass to the extend that If rituals are not performed correctly, the mother and baby may become sick or die. Sometimes burial of placenta is depicted to be essential for travel by the soul of the deceased into the spirit world to rejoin ancestors.
While some of the rituals may seem superstitious, the respect shown to the placenta indicates our ancestors and some indigenous tribes knew there is more to the placenta than just a medical waste.
Placentophagy trending in western cultures
Social scientists have investigated many cultures for placentaphagy (eating owns placenta) in light of trending practice among western women of eating the placenta. However, it is not found in the investigated cultures but it is prevalent in almost all mammal species on earth besides humans.
The predominant reason for placentophagy is perceived medicinal purposes. In traditional chinese medicine - sometimes dried placenta are prescribed to treat low milk supply in mothers, or remedy for chronic cough, liver problems and male impotence. Sometimes, the placenta is consumed after preparation in capsule form or as homeopathic remedy for a mother or a baby.
In 2017, Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention (CDCP) has issued warning against the practice of ingesting encapsulated placenta. An article of New York Times San Francisco Medical center also opined that placenta consumption can be harmful to the health of mother and placenta can be potentially full of bacteria, traces of arsenic, mercury or lead or hormones, etc.
Policy needed on who should have access to placenta and under what conditions
Placenta is gaining lot of attention around the globe being valuable for cultural practice, research, medical or commercial purpose. Meanings attached to placenta makes it significant and differently valuable to individuals, researchers, clinicians, biobanks, biotech companies, etc.
Health system is required to have a specific norms in place to address requests of placenta from the mothers or others. Present laws concerning use of placenta are insufficient and need robust policies to protect the misuse of placental tissues and to also set guidelines keeping in view cultural sensitivity attached to it by people.
Childbirth education can be utilized as an opportunity to facilitate placenta talk on issues beyond the usual medical boundaries and consider alternatives for the often overlooked third stage of labor.
At the End - Everything goes back to Earth or Becomes Universe
Lasudi, women from Lasadiya village took her placenta with her to carry out a proper burial ceremony. We surely do not know the reason behind, however the villagers might be having the belief that what is born in our village must be buried in the same place to make it spritual meaningful. Medical science does not regard this practice to be of scientific significance.
The quest is on, while the practice continues. This is how Dr. Kishan concluded it.