To some, eating your placenta may sound unusual, but placentophagia is practiced in many cultures and is very common among mammals. The very organ that provides nourishment and protection for baby in the womb can be overwhelmingly nutritious for mama after birth. The placenta provides hormones to ward off the baby blues, it can help increase your milk supply, and it is high in iron that can ward off pregnancy induced anemia.
I personally do not think I would cook or prepare the placenta in my home kitchen, but some do. There are many recipes available, but if the taste does not sound appealing to you, many people are having their placenta freeze dried so it can be taken in pill form. Watch this video of a woman who provides a service to turn your plecenta into pills for you. Placenta Benefits.info is a great resource for information, and to locate someone to freeze dry your placenta. Many midwives can lead you in the right direction too.
If you are lucky enough to have the ability to look at your placenta after childbirth, do not pass it up. Your placenta is the only organ that your body eliminates on its own. This picture of my placenta from my son’s homebirth can not even capture the beauty of it. It seemed to glow with a rainbow of color. What struck me as magical was the tree roots of veins that twist and twirl into the umbilical cord. My twins were born at the hospital via cesarean and I was not even given the option or choice to look at their placenta. I almost had to fight the recovery room nurse post surgery when she tried to discard it with the medical waste. After much persuasion, they did let me take it home and we planted it under a tree.
Whether you choose to eat, freeze dry, or plant your organ of life, just know that you will be wasting a rich resource if you just throw it away.