Birthing the Placenta
Woohoo for placentas! Placentas are amazing - you are growing an entire organ designed to support the growing of an entire human being and then your body births said human and said organ. It is truly amazing.
It is also one of those things that I often forget to explain to families. So here we are! Birthing the placenta.
Good news - it’s super easy! Placentas are about the size of a dinner plate but totally smooth and smooshy and it just slides right out. After baby is born, typically baby is placed on the birther’s chest and after some time, the cord is cut and clamped. After that, the care provider will focus their attention on birthing the placenta. Some will gently tug on the cord while someone ‘massages’ your belly, which is not a massage at all. I’d say it’s more of a kneading action - they’re trying to get the uterus to contract, and by manually stimulating the uterus they can get that contraction action which will lead the uterus to release the placenta. They will then do some more tugging to see if it has released, and if it has, they will tell you to push. At this point you might be like, ‘You have to be kidding me’ but we’re not. And I’d say it’s definitely better to have the placenta pushed out than pulled out, so you give another little bear down and if it has fully detached then the placenta will slide right out and you won’t feel a thing. Zero pain, zero sensation other than potentially feeling like you’ve released a huge huge blood clot but I imagine you’ll be too focused on your new baby or your fundal ‘massage’ to really care or notice that. If the placenta isn’t quite ready, they repeat the massage and tug cycle until it’s ready, and if after a certain amount of time, which is dependent on care provider, they may or may not give a shot of pitocin in the birther’s thigh to help the uterus contract and release the placenta.
Timeline, I’d say the care provider will start the massage and testing to see if the placenta is ready to be released about five minutes after you deliver baby, and the placenta is born within 15-25 minutes of baby being born. After that, your care providers will clean you up and see if any repairs need to be done -- all while baby hangs out on your chest and looks at you with their big, beautiful eyes for the first time.
For photos of placentas, of course you can check out the resources down below and also ideas about what to do with your placenta should you decide to keep it. Remember, if you do want to keep it and you’re birthing at the hospital, you need to bring a freezer bag or cooler because your placenta is an organ and needs to be kept on ice. Sexy, right?
Any questions, as always, you know how to find me!
Woohoo for placentas! Placentas are amazing - you are growing an entire organ designed to support the growing of an entire human being and then your body births said human and said organ. It is truly amazing.
It is also one of those things that I often forget to explain to families. So here we are! Birthing the placenta.
Good news - it’s super easy! Placentas are about the size of a dinner plate but totally smooth and smooshy and it just slides right out. After baby is born, typically baby is placed on the birther’s chest and after some time, the cord is cut and clamped. After that, the care provider will focus their attention on birthing the placenta. Some will gently tug on the cord while someone ‘massages’ your belly, which is not a massage at all. I’d say it’s more of a kneading action - they’re trying to get the uterus to contract, and by manually stimulating the uterus they can get that contraction action which will lead the uterus to release the placenta. They will then do some more tugging to see if it has released, and if it has, they will tell you to push. At this point you might be like, ‘You have to be kidding me’ but we’re not. And I’d say it’s definitely better to have the placenta pushed out than pulled out, so you give another little bear down and if it has fully detached then the placenta will slide right out and you won’t feel a thing. Zero pain, zero sensation other than potentially feeling like you’ve released a huge huge blood clot but I imagine you’ll be too focused on your new baby or your fundal ‘massage’ to really care or notice that. If the placenta isn’t quite ready, they repeat the massage and tug cycle until it’s ready, and if after a certain amount of time, which is dependent on care provider, they may or may not give a shot of pitocin in the birther’s thigh to help the uterus contract and release the placenta.
Timeline, I’d say the care provider will start the massage and testing to see if the placenta is ready to be released about five minutes after you deliver baby, and the placenta is born within 15-25 minutes of baby being born. After that, your care providers will clean you up and see if any repairs need to be done -- all while baby hangs out on your chest and looks at you with their big, beautiful eyes for the first time.
For photos of placentas, of course you can check out the resources down below and also ideas about what to do with your placenta should you decide to keep it. Remember, if you do want to keep it and you’re birthing at the hospital, you need to bring a freezer bag or cooler because your placenta is an organ and needs to be kept on ice. Sexy, right?
Any questions, as always, you know how to find me!