“From the earth We created you, and into it We will return you, and from it We will extract you another time.” Some Muslim scholars encourage us to bury our newborn baby's placenta and umbilical cord after their birth.
In Islam the placenta is buried because it is believed that "from the (earth) did We Create you, and into it Shall We return you” (The Noble Quran, 20:55). Judaism also believes in burying the placenta.
Placental tissue is considered part of the human body and should therefore be buried and not incinerated as presently happens in the United Kingdom.
In Central India, women of the Kol Tribe eat placenta to aid reproductive function. It is believed that consumption of placenta by a childless woman "may dispel the influences that keep her barren".
We can conclude from the above two references that the umbilical cord is considered a part of the newborn baby's body. Thus, the original ruling is that it is sunnah to bury the umbilical cord the same as the ruling for nails, hair and blood such as the blood from cupping, honouring the human body.
(Quran: Surah Az-zumar, 39:Ayah 6). “He makes you in the wombs of your mothers in stages, one after another, in three veils of darkness..” This statement is from Sura 39:6.
Igbo tribe of Africa believe that burying the placenta connects the child to the spirits in the ground, and the placenta was given the name “Our Mother.” Native American tribes Chinook and Quinault call the placenta “Grandmother.” The Maori of New Zealand bury the placenta on tribal land to tie the child to the land.
"In Aboriginal culture, we do a ceremony of burying the placenta," Ms Seale said. "It's very significant and connects us to our ancestors and our country."
The placenta does not, technically, belong to the mother.
Our bodies may create it, but it is part of the developing child, which means it is also made up of 50 percent genetic material from the father.
The placenta, or whenua, is very sacred in the Māori culture and it is custom for it to be buried at a place of cultural significance or on ancestral land, as the Māori people believe that humans came from the Earth mother Papatūānuku, so returning the whenua to the land is a sign of respect and thanks.
Islamic View of Infertility
Because one of the prayers of believers described in Qur'an is “O, Lord, grant us spouses and offspring who will be the comfort of our eyes,” [5] seeking a cure for infertility is, thus, appropriate.
It is believed in Islam that deceased fetuses will visit their parents at heaven gates. They even may guide their mothers if they are patient and have hope in God's rewards.
In most cases it is fine to take your placenta home for burial or consumption as long as you follow the basic health and safety precautions that are explained below. There are no laws or guidelines regarding the consumption of your placenta but there are precautions you can take to protect for your health and safety.
Within Islamic scholarship, there is religious ground for giving a stillborn baby of Muslim parents a Muslim funeral, for instance in the view that funeral prayers are recommended over a baby stillborn after four months gestation.
After the birth of a baby it is customary Māori practice to bury the whenua (afterbirth) in the land, most often in a place with ancestral connections. This act has deep cultural significance. Underpinning it is the belief that human beings were first made from earth, from the body of Papatūānuku (the earth mother).
Burials are permitted in either a suitable container for burial (a coffin) or the deceased can be wrapped in a shroud.
"Hospitals are very worried about safety, because the placenta really is a biohazard," says Titi Otunla, a certified nurse midwife at Texas Children's Pavilion for Women in Houston. "It's full of blood, it's not very sanitary-it could be a public health nightmare."
Something only fetuses and mothers share grows according to blueprints from dad, says new Cornell research. Published in PNAS in May 2013, the study shows that paternal genes dominate in the placenta, a temporary organ integrating mother and embryo until birth.
'We didn't really feed them placenta,' she said. 'The longer they think they've eaten placenta, the better. '
Once delivered, the placenta is considered as medical waste and requires safe disposal and handling in accordance with advice from the local health unit and compliance with Environmental Protection legislation. Please note that medical waste must not be placed into the local government domestic collection service.
Preparing the placenta for consumption by mothers is considered traditional among Vietnamese and Chinese people. The Chinese believe a nursing mother should boil the placenta, make a broth, then drink it to improve her milk.
Typically, women eat their placenta after delivery to reap potential benefits, such as a quicker recovery from birth. The practice is called placentophagy and, according to one study, 25 percent of women would be willing to try it.
Do Hospitals Keep Placentas? Hospitals treat placentas as medical waste or biohazard material. The newborn placenta is placed in a biohazard bag for storage. Some hospitals keep the placenta for a period of time in case the need arises to send it to pathology for further analysis.
Scholars of fiqh agree that someone who is not purified CANNOT touch the Quran because Allah says in the Quran “None shall touch it except the purified” (Waqiah: 79). This includes the junub (sexually impure), the menstruating woman, as well as someone without wudhu.
Sahih al-Bukhari writes that the fetus is believed to become a living soul after 120 days' gestation. American academic Azizah Y.