Hallo! Wie Geht es Ihnen?
It’s been a while since I posted my last blog, and I thought that my first placenta tree planting experience will be an interesting and unique
topic to write about.
Before anything else, please join me in raising a toast for being a proud grandmother to a beautiful and healthy baby boy - our first grandchild - who was born in late summer this year.
In keeping with family tradition, I flew to Austria - the land of Edelweiss - to assist my daughter with childcare and house concerns until she has fully recovered from childbirth. Thus, the brief hiatus from my monthly blogs.
What is a Placenta?
Based on medical references, the placenta is a pancake-shaped organ that develops inside the uterus during pregnancy. It is made up of blood vessels and provides a developing baby with nutrients, water, oxygen, antibodies against diseases along with a waste removal system. It attaches to the uterine wall and connects to the baby via the umbilical cord.
The placenta is the lifeline between the baby and the mother’s own blood supply. As the mother’s own blood flows through her uterus, the placenta seeps up nutrients, immune molecules and oxygen circulating through her body system. It shuttles these across the amniotic sac which contains the baby, through the umbilical cord to the baby and into his blood vessels. The baby also passes carbon dioxide and other waste it doesn’t need back to the mother via the placenta.
Photo credit to Wikipedia.org
Note that the placenta is attached to the uterine wall whereas the baby is
inside the amniotic sac within the uterus. The placenta connects to the baby
via the umbilical cord — the baby is not inside the placenta.
The placenta is also called ‘the after-birth’ because it falls off automatically by itself shortly after the child is born. It is very important that the whole placenta is released, because when a part is left after birth or miscarriage, it is very likely to decay and cause blood poisoning to the mother.
Placenta Burial Rituals
In some countries, the placenta holds a symbolic or spiritual meaning based on traditions and beliefs. The Mayans honor the sacred bond between the mother and her baby by burying the placenta under a special tree to give protective powers over the child.
In both Japanese and Chinese culture, the placenta burial is believed to bestow blessings or protection for the child's future. Among the Navajo and many Hawaiians, the placenta is placed in the ground to connect the child to his or her homeland and ancestors.
In the Philippines, the placenta is called Inunan, possibly coined from the word Pinagkunan (source) acknowledging the importance of the placenta as a temporary giver of life to the baby.
Why Plant a Placenta
Instead of leaving the placenta in the hospital where it will eventually
be considered as waste, incinerated and thrown elsewhere, my daughter thought
it best to use its nutrients for nourishing another life – that of a tree.
As the tree grows, it will remind her of how her baby’s life began
inside her womb while establishing a personal connection between the tree and her
child as he grows up.
Herself a fan of organically grown and nutritious food, environmental protection and pollution prevention efforts, my daughter decided to plant it under a fig tree.
Why a Fig Tree
Aside from its Biblical significance, figs are a great source of prebiotics, calcium and potassium that are good for building bone density.
The fruits come in different varieties. The very ripe ones are syrupy and sweet like honey and are very delicious.
Inside the fig fruit is a maze of flowers, making a fig not actually a fruit but an inflorescence - a cluster of many flowers and seeds inside a bulbous stem.
I had my first taste of this fruit in Germany, and it has since become my irreplaceable favorite.
My daughter dreams of seeing her baby climb or gather fruits from this
tree with his cousins and friends when he grows up.
Choosing a Fig Tree
At Bio Feigenhof - a beautiful organic garden located in the middle of Vienna’s intensive vegetable growing area in Simmering - we bought a three-feet tall green variety fig tree with one or two fruits coming out.
Fig fruits ripen at 3 - 5 years old. Before this, fruits may appear along the stems where each leaf attaches but they will not ripen. Surprisingly, potted figs may bear fruit much earlier.
A fig tree can grow from 15-30 feet tall but can also be pruned to serve as an edible shade tree or summer screen or grow in bush form in huge containers.
Depending on variety, figs can vary in size, shape, flavor, texture, and harvest can be black, green, brown, violet, yellow, or purple. The fruits ripen completely while on the stem, so they are best eaten straight from the tree.
According to Encyclopedia Britanica, the common fig is indigenous to an area extending from Asiatic Turkey to northern India, but natural seedlings grow in most Mediterranean countries. It is cultivated in warm climates and can be propagated by ground layering or cuttings.
How to Plant a Placenta
We chose an elevated spot in the garden beside the perimeter wall overlooking
the vineyards with 7-8 hours of full, direct sunlight and enough space for its roots
to spread.
The roots of the fig tree can be invasive in areas where optimal growing
conditions are present. So, we decided to surround the first 2 feet of soil with
a huge, bottomless plastic pot to protect it also from other invasive plants in
the garden.
We dug a hole on the ground of at least 3 feet wide and 3 feet deep just enough to prevent domestic and wild animals from smelling and digging the placenta.
At the base, we put mixed garden soil, then buried the placenta and covered it with at least 6 inches of soil to allow it to decompose before the roots reach it. Then we positioned the fig tree, covered it with soil once again, and generously watered it.
Before this, we thawed the frozen placenta which was securely packed and wrapped in a sanitary container by the hospital. After it was turned over to us, we stored it in the freezer for two weeks until we were ready to plant it.
As a standard operating procedure, hospitals in Austria keep the placenta in their custody for as long as medical and legal issues about the baby have yet been cleared and settled. Thereafter, it is considered as a bio-waste, if not requested by the family, and disposed of by the hospital following strict waste disposal procedures.
Placenta Impact
As this was my first experience planting a placenta tree, it dawned on
me that placenta as a bio-medical refuse can be converted and used for
agricultural purposes to promote the propagation and improvement of farm produce
in the country.
To my knowledge, hospitals in the Philippines do not store but dispose of them immediately unless requested by the family or bought by manufacturing companies for use as an ingredient in the production of soap and other beauty products.
At approximately 7,400 daily births in 2022 the government through its appropriate agencies can gather around 2,664,000 placentas in one year and process them into organic plant fertilizer for free distribution to farmers.
New year, new nourishment, new life. Why not plant your baby's placenta today under your favorite tree?
You can reach me at greencraftivist@gmail.com for any questions or inquiries.
Frohes neues Jahr!
Apple Bleza - Morales
About the Author:
Apple (or Maybelle in the corporate setting) is an HR Professional who is passionately immersed in home and community gardening as well as related arts and crafts. She completed post baccalaureate studies in Human Resources and Organization Development at De La Salle College of Saint Benilde and holds a Masters Degree in Industrial Relations from the University of the Philippines with focus in Human Resources Development.
References:
Photos by: Maybelle B. Morales
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