burying the placenta under a tree..
@moonlitmagikchild (22181)
United States
August 11, 2008 6:52pm CST
http://www.wsmv.com/entertainment/17155843/detail.html?treets=nash&tid=2657537830813&tml=nash_ent&tmi=nash_ent_1_11150308112008&ts=H#-
Matthew McConaughey is burying his baby's placenta under a tree as some kind of custom.. i have never heard of this before.. is this a well known thing and i have my head under a rock or something?? i have heard of eating the placenta (i want to puke) but not burying it although burying it sounds great than eating it lol.. i thought you could use placentas for stem cells though?? i would want it to go to something like that than in the earth..
any thoughts
4 people like this
13 responses
@SViswan (12051)
• India
12 Aug 08
Well, we do have a similar custom in India. The placenta is either burnt or buried in the ground (not necessarily under a tree but it has to be some place that people do not step on). I'm not sure if there are other rituals involved or if this is the right one.....but I know earlier there were similar practices in my community.
2 people like this
@SViswan (12051)
• India
12 Aug 08
Well, I didn't handle it myself. I think the midwife had to do it.
We also have other rituals which includes the customary 'boiling water' bath (which helps in healing) and some other stuff. So, even if we do not have midwives helping with the childbirth at home (most women now have their babies in the hospital), the midwives help with all the other rituals after childbirth. The bath water for the mother is boiled with some herbs in it and it's a long process. And there are other nutritious things we are given to eat. These are prepared before the delivery and stored in airtight containers. And there are also specific things to be done to reduce the tummy.
2 people like this
@moonlitmagikchild (22181)
• United States
12 Aug 08
i couldnt imagine handling it afterwards yuck!! but if there was like a ceremony or something to where i wouldnt have to hold it i guess i would be more open to it..
@online4survival (49)
• India
12 Aug 08
Yes, this is a common tradition in India but I don't think this ritual is celebrated. But I too have heard this from many that they place it at some place of importance (according to there own perception). This is thought to bring the attributes of that place in child and it is believed that the child is likely to take related profession (to the place).
2 people like this
@saundyl (9783)
• Canada
12 Aug 08
I've heard of it before. Its like a "Birth" tree or a Placenta tree some families plant a tree with the placenta for each child that is born. My family didnt do it but i remember my grandad saying that it was a Hawaiian tradition when i read about it in a book in high school.
2 people like this
@moonlitmagikchild (22181)
• United States
12 Aug 08
i dunno if i would want a tree for me..
1 person likes this
@danishcanadian (28955)
• Canada
12 Aug 08
Eating it? YECH!!! No way.
or those who might not want or need the stem cells, the tree idea is a good one. It's just going to go to "waste" anyway, so why ot compost it back into the earth! I once heard o someone planting a tree and burying i under the ewly planted tree, and callig it "aby's tree" or whatever.... Not a bad idea.
2 people like this
@moonlitmagikchild (22181)
• United States
12 Aug 08
yeah i have heard of eating it a lot and today was the first time on hearing it being buried.. its a great idea as far as like returning to the earth and etc but just hit me as weird to just now have heard about this.. i am usually knowledgeable on weird things lol
1 person likes this
@ParaTed2k (22940)
• Sheboygan, Wisconsin
12 Aug 08
It's just one of many, many meaningless things celebrities do. I'm sure in their minds they think that they are doing something important or praiseworthy, but in the end, all they are doing is letting a piece of bloody meat rot in the ground.
Some people say it's a kind of "composting" but everything I've ever learned about composting is, don't put meat or blood into the compost pile.
As for eating it, I guess there are cannibals among us. :~D
1 person likes this
@ParaTed2k (22940)
• Sheboygan, Wisconsin
12 Aug 08
There is a good reason. Rotting meat and blood do not break down like veggies and fruits do. There is a process for composting meat, but it takes a lot of water, saw dust and a way to generate the 130-150F heat required for proper microbial activity to break down the meat.
If the celebs are just burying the placentas it's no different than burying your garbage without separating it first. In other words, it's just littering.
1 person likes this
@moonlitmagikchild (22181)
• United States
12 Aug 08
your right in composting i have never heard of anything but like vegetables or non meat things being thrown in.. im guessing there is a reason for this..
Burying it is normal i think.. Here in our parts some people dry the cut off umbilical cord and roll it in a piece of metal and tie it by means of a black thread around the babys waist to ward off evil spirits.. @pam210 (344)
• United States
12 Aug 08
I have never heard of such a thing and can't even imagine doing that. I know that there are many different customs and beliefs but I just don't get the placenta thing. Quite frankly I'm glad I didn't see any of the blood and stuff when I had my four. I don't know how my husband did it watching all of that (especially the last one was a c-section). I can't imagine taking the placenta away from the hospital and then keeping it all this time to bury it under a tree. I've got chills running up my spine right now thinking about it.
2 people like this
@moonlitmagikchild (22181)
• United States
12 Aug 08
im great with medical things and not getting queasy at blood and surgeries etc but seeing the placenta pass makes me wanna puke and im good with those kind of things.. i couldnt imagine taking it home with me and frying it up or touching it to bury it.. obviously they would have to take it out of their container or else the whole thing for like returning it to the earth thing would be shot if it was wrapped up *shudder*
1 person likes this
@brimia (6581)
• United States
12 Aug 08
I've heard of people eating it too...I think it was rumors about Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes. I could never do it but if they want to...what the heck, why not?
Burying it is kind of a sweet idea...it may sound weird to others but it's not hurting anyone. I've heard of companies using placenta in cosmetics that a lot of people use... that sounds much weirder than burying it.
@moonlitmagikchild (22181)
• United States
13 Aug 08
ugh i will never look at lipstick the same way again
@seabeauty (1480)
• United States
13 Aug 08
I have never heard of this before. I have heard of eating the placenta, but not burying it. I am going to have to do some research on this.
1 person likes this
@moonlitmagikchild (22181)
• United States
13 Aug 08
i think it would disturb me if i knew my parents ate my placenta
@wachit14 (3595)
• United States
12 Aug 08
I never really understood any of these rituals and I'm not sure what they are supposed to accomplish. I do know that often times, the new parents are asked if they wish to donate the umbilical cord blood to be harvested for stem cells, but I'm really not so sure about the rest of the placenta. Neither eating it or burying it sounds very sanitary.
1 person likes this
@moonlitmagikchild (22181)
• United States
13 Aug 08
yeah i have only understood the stem cell part but not the other
@totalcomments_com (167)
• United States
12 Aug 08
This is mildly disturbing. I envision some sort of ancient satanic or druid ritual. I am very wary of this sort of thing, but I agree it is better than eating it which is both disgusting and more than mildly disturbing.
1 person likes this
@moonlitmagikchild (22181)
• United States
13 Aug 08
*shudder* i dont want to see it or deal with any of it..
@SydneyHazelton (4586)
• Singapore
12 Aug 08
We buried my daughter's placenta in a clay pot in the ground somewhere. My dad was the one who did it. I think it is based on an old belief which I have no idea about. So it's really nothing new.
@moonlitmagikchild (22181)
• United States
13 Aug 08
hmm in a pot? i always thought the point was to return it to the earth which the pot would stop.. there must have been something else to his meaning or reasoning.. *shrugs* at least he is happy 
@blackmantra_x (2732)
• Philippines
12 Aug 08
Good day...Right here, there's a lot of belief regarding the placenta like some parents keep the placenta of their children in a clean box and once the child comes of age and is entering a relationship or getting married, the parent mix the placenta with a drink and let them, the child and his/her partner drink it. Even the child doesn't know that he/she is drinking her own placenta concoction. They believe that this would secure their relationship in the long run. Well, that's just a belief, I didn't known anyone who's doing this, at least not personally but who knows?
@moonlitmagikchild (22181)
• United States
13 Aug 08
how would they keep it from um spoiling/rottening/decaying/? till then?? i have never heard of that either..
@MOMMASAM (1004)
• United States
12 Aug 08
oh yes, i have heard of both.
twenty years ago,
when i lived in san francisco, this was often a custom
to buy a tree to celebrate the life of the newborn
and burying the placenta to give it life's
nutrients, too.
now a days, i'm not sure how regular folks would even
get the placenta out of the hospital to bury it !
i've heard of birthing parties, where the home birth
is attended by many friends. after the birth, rejoicing
is further enhanced by serving placenta stew.
nah, never even wanted to try that !
this was years before stem cell research, etc.
i think the tree idea is quite sweet though.
perhaps american indian?
1 person likes this
@moonlitmagikchild (22181)
• United States
13 Aug 08
ewww stew.. i think all you have to do is ask for it to be saved from the hospital or something blah
