09 Sep
The Placenta Print
This post, is going to gross a lot of people out. For some reason, thinking about/talking about/seeing placentas make people want to gag/vomit/die/etc. Honestly, I don’t really get what the big deal is, but if you don’t want to see a picture of T1′s placenta (and especially if you don’t want to see me holding it in my hand!), I suggest you skip this post.
This is T1′s placenta, wrapped up in several chux pads. At the time this photo was taken it had been sitting in our freezer for 3 months. My mom wasn’t a fan, as it slid out and almost hit her in the head several times. There aren’t many things crunchier than keeping a placenta in the freezer!
I have no idea when I first learned that women were making prints of their placentas, but I immediately liked the idea. I saw some pictures that looked like a tree, and it made me think of the Tree of Life spoken of in the Book of Mormon. To summarize, in the Book of Mormon a prophet named Lehi speaks of a tree called the Tree of Life that represents the Love of God. I’m not sure I know of any more tangible representation of God’s love than the opportunity to shepherd one of His children through mortality. This placenta nourished T1 for 40 weeks, and from now on it’s my responsibility.
I know a lot of people will find this whole thing to be absolutely disgusting. I personally find it to be very symbolic and beautiful.
I decided to make it out on my porch and assembled all of the necessary components:
Acid free paper
Permanent Ink
Paper towels
Wrapping paper (we had extra so I used this under the placenta to prevent a mess
Towel
Placenta
I washed and dried the placenta thoroughly and applied ink all over the side filled with veins, as this is what gives it the “tree” look.
After inking the placenta several times over, I flipped it over on the first sheet of paper.
Hmmm, not quite the effect I was going for, but you can see the tree a little bit, right?
I used the towel to dry it some more, and stamped it several more times, really rubbing to try to get the ink in the crevices. I also used my fingers to squish the placenta into the paper once I laid it down.
This is what I came up with the second time. T1′s tree of life!
I made several more, and came up with one other that I liked, and I’m still trying to decide between the two. Once T1 has a dedicated bedroom I’ll choose a favorite and frame up. Odds are that the majority of people will have no idea what they are looking at when they see it! I’m considering finding a local calligrapher to write his name, birth date, time, weight, and length on it as well.
I know I’m going to get lots of “ewwwws” and “blech!” and links that say “look at this nutjob who made a print with her son’s disgusting placenta” but I don’t mind. I love it and plan to do one for each of my subsequent children.
Also:
I'm a farm-raised almost-crunchy stroller-pushing picture-taking lifestyle-blog-writing gastronomy-obsessed divine-seeking thrift-store-combing cheese-inhaling pavement-pounding laughter-sprinkling lover of individuality and taking chances.
Agreed! I love it too! What you came up with is lovely- wish I wasn’t so squeamish about handling the placenta. Maybe it’s better to handle it frozen? Maaaaaaybe I’ll think up something creative for this next bub’s placenta.
1Actually, I think it’s awesome! Out of curiosity, once you did this project, did you then re-freeze and take it with you to Chicago?
Jenna Reply:
September 9th, 2010 at 8:42 am
No, I threw it out.
Hayley Marie Reply:
September 10th, 2010 at 3:49 pm
I’m glad someone else asked that question! I was wondering the same thing!
Beautiful, and sweetly symbolic. It really does look like a tree!
One question: what do you do with the defrosted and inked placenta? Can you just dispose of it?
Jenna Reply:
September 9th, 2010 at 8:44 am
I’ll be honest… I didn’t even look up what I should do with the placenta because I’m lazy so I just threw it out. I actually like the idea of planting it (which is what a lot of people do), but that wasn’t an option.
I LOVE this. Such a great idea. Did you keep the placenta just for this purpose or were there other reasons?
Jenna Reply:
September 9th, 2010 at 8:55 am
I saw the placenta print early on my pregnancy and that’s why I kept it. Otherwise I would have had my midwife dispose of it after the birth.
That actually turned out much less disgusting than I was expecting. I would never look at that and think that it is a print of the placenta. Personally, I would never do it, but I think it is a very nice idea! Very creative!
5I love this! The art degree in me REALLY loves this.
Great idea.
6I love this idea, I just don’t know if I would have the stomach to actually thaw it out and touch it. However, I would pay someone to do it for me! Haha. I love the Tree of Life idea and think that if it is special to you, then it is extremely important.
7I am consistantly learning from you Ms. Jenna! Very interesting! And I’d never seen a placenta before! Question - did you throw it away after? I’ve heard of people planting it under a tree - sort of similar to the tree of life symbolism.
Gwen Reply:
September 9th, 2010 at 8:55 am
Ohhh I just read the other comments and saw your answer to my question
I had been curious about this since you first mentioned your desire/plan to do it. For some reason I thought that you were going to be photographing it.
You have a stronger stomach than I do.
I had never seen a placenta so before reading the post I had a little pep talk with myself. Haha! And to think that I used to want to be a doctor.
This is such a wonderful word picture. In addition to T1′s birth stats I think it would be lovely to have a verse, in reference to the Tree of Life printed around the print.
Jenna Reply:
September 9th, 2010 at 9:01 am
Lovely idea Kristin! I’m so glad you suggested it.
Amy E. Reply:
September 10th, 2010 at 10:08 pm
I was just thinking the same thing (about the verse)! So glad I kept reading. While touching a placenta is not for me, I love the idea of having meaningful/personal art around the house.
I think people have a strange reaction to placentas because we’re not used to seeing human organs every day. It’s like having a liver or stomach in the freezer.
I think your print will be a wonderful keepsake for T1. And you’re right, most people will think it’s just an arty print hanging in his room.
10I too was wondering what you did with it when you were finished, thanks for clarifying! I don’t think it is gross, but not really my style
11It actually came out amazing! What an interesting print - it’s not something that people would automatically think PLACENTA from, which is nice too; just an extra special portrait for you to remember the experience through. As well as T1 himself, of course!
12It came out really lovely. I will admit, after Molly was born our midwife showed me the placenta and she was so impressed with it (this was after she told us several times that midwives and nurses do what they do because they love seeing blood and placentas and stuff like that). I wasn’t necessarily grossed out, but it just didn’t do anything for me. I really like the “Tree of Life” idea though, even for non-Mormons like me!
13That turned out great and will be a great keepsake and a lovely tradition! That being said, I did make a bit of an “eww” face when I saw it… but Im not a Mom yet, so the idea of cleaning up poop makes me make an “eww” face too! hahha. Youll have to post pics of the final product!
14Cool! I’ve never seen a placenta before! I love the print and think it’s a wonderful momento of the birth if your son!
15This is a little weird for my taste, and I’m a biologist! I just hope you threw away the ink pad afterward because it probably isn’t too safe to keep anymore
Jenna Reply:
September 9th, 2010 at 9:36 am
Oh sick, yes of course!
Your placenta looks so small compared to mine for Little G…of course, I didn’t get to freeze it and then clean it up, so who knows.
I am glad I have a picture of mine and I am glad I got to see it. When else do you get to see an organ…like PP, Maria, said…it isn’t like we all have access to livers and lungs and such. Which is why it was so important to me to view it. I GREW it! And it GREW my baby. How can you not respect that?
And yet, all that said, it never crossed my mind to make a print of it. It isn’t that I wouldn’t be able to stomach it myself, I just have no interest in it. But yours I have interest in. Go figure.
17so, I thought 2 things… gross! and cool! I am generally squeamish though, so I would probably never do it, but I think the print turned out really awesome… it really does look like a tree!
18I wouldn’t do this because I’m not “crafty” so just don’t fully “get” it. But I can see a bit of the appeal and certainly don’t think that it is gross. I agree that you should post a picture of the final product once you have it!
19You know I was a bit mystified by it at first - I had never heard of anyone doing anything with placentas (actually, that’s a lie - I read in a magazine about someone cooking it up or something and turning them into pills that you take for the first few months…) I guess I’ve always known I’m not very granola!
But the print is lovely. I love tree stuff and it will be a beautiful print to admire!
20Huh. I was expecting to be totally grossed out but I think it’s pretty neat. I love that it looks like a little tree. I don’t know if it is something I would do myself but thank you so much for sharing! I had no idea you could even do this!
21That’s awesome, Jenna! I’m totally doing this for my kids too (whenever I have them). Thanks for sharing!
22A little odd at first, but I love the final result. I think people are just squeamish about body parts in general. I had an art professor whose grandfather was a talented charcoal artist. So when he died, he had his body cremated and the ash pressed into charcoal sticks (the type known as “bone charcoal”, no pun intended!), which he gifted to the artists in his family. Kinda creepy, but more cool when you think about it. He said it was the best charcoal he’d ever used, and has gorgeous sketches from it that his family cherishes.
Sophia Reply:
September 9th, 2010 at 10:35 am
That is *so* awesome! What a cool gift
Evelyn Reply:
September 9th, 2010 at 2:03 pm
That is really neat… though I will agree, a little creepy too. =D
I’ve never heard of this until now. I wasn’t grossed out just surprised by it all. I do think the verse around the print would be a good idea.
24My 9th grade health teacher cooked her placenta and ate it for the nutritional value for her breast milk…not something you want to hear when you’re 15 years old! I like your idea a lot better and the end result is awesome, and it looks like you paid an artist big bucks to print this for you!
Evelyn Reply:
September 9th, 2010 at 2:05 pm
haha… um, I’ve known at least one other person who has “eaten” her placenta (encapsulated) but most people who do it usually aren’t so open about it. I don’t think your age at the time had anything to do with it, most people would tell you they don’t want to hear that!
I find this 85% very cool and creative, and 15% ewwwwwwww. But mostly very cool and creative.
Now, I’ve heard people doing art with menstrual blood… and that’s 100% ewwwwwww.
phruphru Reply:
September 9th, 2010 at 1:40 pm
THAT is definitely where I’d draw the line, too!!
I do think it is a little bit gross - and not something I would do at this point. However, I think the print looks wonderful and I LOVE that you call it T1′s “tree of life” Even though it grosses me out thinking about doing it now, I might consider it when I have kids. It is definitely something that is unique to them and I think would make a good keepsake.
27So I have to ask… does it have an odor? I think I could handle touching it, but if it smelled I don’t know if I could do it. I’ve never gone through childbirth, so I’m sure there are odors involved that I haven’t yet experienced… I just have a very sensitive nose!
28I love that you did this! I’ve seen lots of placenta prints and it’s always so interesting and unique. It’s also really cool that it references back to the Tree of Life. I agree with a previous comment that you should print a verse on the picture as well.
29I’m in the cool and weird column for this. It’s definitely a beautiful print and something that your family can treasure forever. It’s just something that I don’t know if I’d ever do, but it’s really is a cool idea.
30My gag reflex would kick in full time if I did that! The print turned out great, and it will always have an interesting story behind it. You can embarrass T1 when he starts dating. Hehe.
31I like the finished product but I doubt I could do that myself.
32I find this fascinating and since I’m a nurse it doesn’t bother me at all. I doubt I’d do it though strange enough… maybe bc I hate all things crafty? But Jenna… why no gloves? lol
It turned out very neat btw.
hillary bost Reply:
September 13th, 2010 at 2:45 pm
yea I am kinda wondering why no gloves too lol.
If you had just shown that print, I NEVER would have known it was made from a placenta! I find organs/body stuff pretty interesting, but am not quite sure I would be brave enough. I think lots of sqeamishness goes out the window when one gives birth, especially if done naturally!
34I love it! There is a midwife in my area who does that for all of the women she helps through delivery for the same reason- the Tree of Life. I think it is beautiful! What an awesome thing for your family to have.
35oh please please do a post-edit and point out that not ALL mormons compare the placenta to the tree of life in the Book of Mormon? It kiiinda sounds like this is a required practice. and someone looking for something to poke at the church with will definitely jump to some great and awful conclusions with this post.
Jenna Reply:
September 9th, 2010 at 11:46 am
I don’t really see how any rational person could get thatout of my post? I thought I made it pretty clear that the symbolism comes from the tree, not the organ itself.
Kristin ~ Bien Living Design Reply:
September 9th, 2010 at 3:06 pm
I actually didn’t get that at all…just that a placenta print can look like a tree. & that the Book of Mormon happens to reference a Tree of Life. The symbolism she draws from it is hers to cherish.
Sophia Reply:
September 9th, 2010 at 11:11 pm
I went back and re-read the post, and it would be pretty hard to extrapolate that it’s “required” of all members because Jenna wrote that a) her mother, a practicing Mormon, wasn’t a fan and b) Jenna, a practicing Mormon, specifically stated that she had never heard of such a thing until she was pregnant.
Someone would have to be stretching really, really hard to even remotely get the idea that this is some kind of Mormon ritual, if two devout lifelong Mormon ladies had never heard of it until this year, ya know?
Hailey Reply:
September 10th, 2010 at 5:36 am
I definitely didn’t read this post to give the impression that there’s a canonized LDS belief regarding placentas. If people have a religious bone to pick, they’ll extrapolate anything, no matter how it’s justified or explained.
I haven’t really given placentas much thought, but I think this is a really interesting idea for what to do with it. I like the symbolism you’ve described.
And I have to say, although I’m not “grossed out” by placenta in theory, or even in your post, the next post on my Google Reader was a berry bruschetta and seeing the picture of that first, right after reading about placenta, did gross me out a little.
Amy @ The Nifty Foodie Reply:
September 9th, 2010 at 10:22 pm
Bwahaha…I’m laughing a little hard that my berry bruschetta posted after this (if it’s mine you’re referring to). I didn’t do it on purpose, I swear!
I have never heard of that…it does make me a bit squeamish, but it obviously has a lot of meaning for you all. I did NOT inherit my mom’s nurse-stomach of steel!
38I admit when I first heard about you doing this I thought, “Eww gross. Why would she do that?”. However, I like the symbolism you have behind it and can more fully appreciate it.
Some of the other girls have already made mention of it, but have you heard about Placenta Encapsulation? I recently learned a little bit about it and am really interested in it. You can do it yourself, but considering you’ll be recovering from childbirth, I’d go with having someone else do it. So far, what I’ve read is someone trained does it for you. You take the capsules for a few months (obviously) after birth and it helps you with postpartum depression, breast milk production, and energy.
Anyway, I know that you said that you are planning on doing the print for all of your children. Just wondering if you had heard about this and considered it as a possibility.
Jenna Reply:
September 9th, 2010 at 11:43 am
No. There isn’t any science behind it so I consider any positive benefits that women claim to notice to be a product of the placebo effect. If you do it and it helps though, then great I think!
I love this. I kind of want to do it, but now I’m thinking through the logistics of my (very far impending) alternative birthing center-yet-in-a-hospital birth and getting a print of the placenta done. :/
40I am one of the squeamish ones but I thought you hit the right note with this post. I love your attitude about the whole thing and would expect nothing less from you
I especially love how this connects with your spiritual beliefs so much. It’s not something I would do because for me it would just be a cool print, not so meaningful. You definitely should add a quote from those verses like someone suggested!
41I’ll admit I clicked through just for the “ick” factor, but I suprised that I wasn’t really all that grossed out - I think raw chicken is grosser looking! While I don’t think I would personally ever make a placenta print, I do really like yours and I enjoy the symbolism in it!
42I’ll admit that I think it’s absolutely disgusting, but the print looks cool haha. I saw my sister’s placenta after she gave birth and that’s the most I’ll ever want to look at one again
43“Look at that nutjob!” That line made me laugh out loud. While a part of me does thinks this is weird, a much bigger part of me thinks it’s really cool AND that the print looks awesome. Rock on with your crunchy self!
44So I probably wouldn’t have the stomach to do this myself, but I think it’s completely awesome that you did it!! I LOVE the “Tree of Life” idea!! It’s T1′s Tree of Life! How cool!!
It would be a wonderful keepsake in his room with his name and baby stats on it. Love it!
45I don’t think I’d ever heard the placenta compared to the tree of life until rather recently. I have, however, heard of placenta encapsulation. I didn’t care to check out the placenta after Addie but I was definitely interested in it this time around, so our midwife held it up and explained all about it for me. Kinda fun.
46Don’t you just love the Internet? Would you have ever thought of this on your own without seeing it on the ‘net? I know I wouldn’t!
47Great post! I’ve never heard of doing anything like this before, and you presented it great.
48I think it came out beautifully, and I love the concept.
49Okay, I won’t lie. When I first started reading this post I was sort of skeptical. Or sort of saying “hmmm” - but…. I have to say I think the print came out really cool and I love the meaning behind it!
I think you should have his name, birthdate and stats put on it.
You’re so creative!!! And thank you for sharing with us
50