Planning for the arrival of a baby is not an easy task, but thankfully you have nine months to do so. If you are a first-time mom, nine months may seem like a long time, but ask any mother, and they will tell you how quickly that time will fly by.
As you are mentally, physically, and financially preparing for your baby, you might want to start thinking about various post-delivery options as well. For example, what will you do with the placenta? For many women who just delivered their newborn, the placenta may be an afterthought, and because of that, they choose not to save it. Other women may have plans to keep the placenta, but why? You may have heard of some, but others, such as a placenta teddy bear, will leave you scratching your head. Today, we will be discussing why mothers choose to save the placenta and what they can be used for.
What is The Placenta?
You most likely have heard of the placenta while discussing pregnancy but let’s discuss what it is and why it’s so special (and don’t worry we will get to the part about a placenta teddy bear kit in just a moment). The placenta is an organ in your uterus that only develops during pregnancy. Often referred to as the organ of life, the placenta provides oxygen and nutrients to your growing baby while removing waste products from the baby’s blood. It attaches to the uterine wall, and do you want to guess where the umbilical cord arises from? Yep, you guessed it! The placenta.
After giving birth, the placenta leaves the body through the birth canal, and unless otherwise requested, it is typically disposed of.
Why Do People Save The Placenta?
Before we go into why some mothers choose to save the placenta, it is important to note that the placenta was routinely thrown away until the last couple of decades. Over the years, however, more and more mothers are choosing to save theirs because of what the placenta contains.
Placentas are often saved because they can be a way to provide mothers with the nourishment they need after recovering from childbirth. It is a rich source of Mesenchymal Stem Cells (MSCs) and mesenchymal-like stem cells, which are multipotent in nature.
In more recent years, people have decided to not only save their placenta but to store it with a private stem cell tissue bank for future use. Placental tissue stem cells are used in more than 50 regenerative medicine clinical trials worldwide. These studies include treatment for conditions like Alzheimer’s disease, diabetes, and spinal cord regeneration.
Things You Can Do With Your Placenta
As previously mentioned, there are many reasons to save your placenta. So if you are thinking about saving yours and need some ideas, here are some pretty unique and interesting things to do with your placenta:
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Eat The Placenta
You have likely heard of people eating their placenta after birth. People have been doing this for years, but it became more “mainstream” when celebrities started encouraging it for nourishment purposes. It can be encapsulated into pill form, or it can be added to a smoothie. -
Bank Placental Tissue
You may have heard of cord blood banks that store your child’s cord blood or cord tissue, but did you know that you can also store your placental tissue for future use? The placenta is a rich source of Mesenchymal stem cells and mesenchymal-like stem cells, which are multipotent in nature. This means they have the ability to differentiate into specialized cells with specific functions. Scientists have successfully repaired bones, cartilage, and fat tissues using MSCs. -
Placenta Teddy Bear Kit
Remember when we said some ways to save your placenta would leave you puzzled or scratching your head? This would be one of those ways.
If you have never heard of a placenta teddy bear, we can assure you that they are real, and it’s exactly what it sounds like…a teddy bear made from your placenta. So how is this possible? Well, it starts with a placenta teddy bear kit that apparently has everything you need. The kit itself has tools and instructions on cutting, drying, and sewing your placenta together to form the not-so-plush teddy bear. It may not be the most cuddly teddy bear, but it is the most unique and sustainable.
If you decide to save your placenta, there are plenty of interesting things to do with it. Remember that the placenta is the organ of life and if you want to preserve the stem-cell-rich tissue for future use, you only have one chance. No matter what you decide to do with your placenta, it’s crucial to have a plan in place.
