The gentlebirth.org website is provided courtesy of
Ronnie Falcao, LM MS, a homebirth midwife in Mountain View, CA

Various Uses of Placenta

I know a lot of people are grossed out even by the idea of eating the placenta, even though this is something that mammals do routinely.  It's even possible that the hormones in the placenta are instrumental in the mother's complete and speedy recovery from the birth.  Or maybe it's a way of providing nutrition to her so she doesn't have to leave the nest to hunt for food at a time when she needs to be guarding and nursing her babies.

Or maybe there are benefits from the stem cells in the placental tissue, although who knows whether they could actually be absorbed through the digestive tract?

I know that mammal fathers do not routinely eat the placenta, but I actually like of like the idea.

I'm fascinated by the baby's stem cells remaining in the mother's system for many years after the pregnancy. I like the idea that this means that the woman is also carrying the DNA of the father of her child.  From a northern California New Age point of view, this could be a biological basis for "mother's intuition", knowing when her family is in danger.

So . . . I can almost imagine some benefit to the dad's eating the placenta, which is being investigated as a very rich source of pluripotent stem cells even at the time of birth.  Maybe the stem cells are somehow absorbed into the dad's system

Placenta Recipes (Mothering Magazine, September 1983, Vol. 28, pg 76) Each placenta weighs approximately 1/6 of the baby's weight. Cut the meat away from the membranes with a sharp knife. Discard the membranes.

Placenta Cocktail: 1/4 cup raw placenta, 8oz V-8 juice, 2 ice cubes, 1/2 cup carrot. Blend at high speed for 10 seconds

Placenta Lasagne: Use your favorite lasagne recipe and substitute this mixture for one layer of cheese. In 2 tbl. olive oil, quickly saute meat of 3/4 placenta, ground or minced plus 2 sliced cloves of garlic, 1/2 tsp. oregano, 1/2 diced onion & 2 tbl. tomato paste, or 1 whole tomato.

Placenta Spaghetti: Cut meat of 3/4 placenta into bite size pieces, then brown quickly in 1 tbl. butter plus 1 tbl. oil. Then add 1 large can tomato puree, 2 cans crushed pear tomatoes, 1 onion, 2 cloves of garlic, 1 tbl. molasses, 1 bay leaf, 1 tbl. rosemary, 1 tsp. ea. of salt, honey, oregano, basil, and fennel. Simmer 1 1/2 hours.

Placenta Stew: Meat of 3/4 placenta in bite size chunks, 1 potato (cubed), 1/4 cup fresh parsley, 2 carrots, 3 ribs celery, 1 zucchini, 1 large tomato, 1 small onion. Dredge meat in 1 tbl. flour mixed with 1 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp. paprika, pinch of cloves, pinch of pepper, 6-8 crushed coriander seeds. Saute meat in 2 tbl. oil, then add vegetables (cut up) and 4-5 cups of water. Bring to full boil, then simmer for 1 hour.

Placenta Pizza: Grind placenta. Saute in 2 tbl. olive oil with 4 garlic cloves, then add 1/4 tsp fennel, 1/4 tsp. pepper, 1/4 tsp paprika, 1/4 tsp. salt, 1/2 tsp. oregano, 1/4 tsp. thyme, and 1/4 cup of wine. Allow to stand for 30 minutes, then use with your favorite home made pizza recipe. It's a fine placenta sausage topping.