What should we do with my wife’s frozen placenta?

Moments after our youngest daughter’s planned home birth, our midwife Madou directed my attention to the placenta. “Come and look at this! Want a photo?”

I reached for my phone and snapped a picture, more as a polite gesture than with any real intention. Madou, who leads the NHS home birth Sunflower Team at Chelsea and Westminster hospital, has supported us through the births of all three of our children. Still, I have no idea what I’m supposed to do with a photo of a placenta. One thing’s for sure: it’s definitely not going in the family WhatsApp.

Her next question, however, really caught me off guard: “Would you like to keep it?”

What on earth for? 

After the births of our first two children, I’d briefly looked into placenta banking – the process of freezing and storing part of the placenta for potential future medical use. In theory, it can help treat conditions such as leukaemia or support regenerative therapies for the child. 

But both placentas ultimately ended up in medical waste. This time, I hadn’t given it a moment’s thought.

The placenta is now lying in the freezer between the frozen peas and a half-eaten tub of ice cream

Madou reminds me what an extraordinary organ the placenta is. It’s been our baby’s lifeline – delivering oxygen and nutrients, producing hormones, kick-starting her immune system, filtering waste. It’s also packed with stem cells. She says the majority of her home-birth families choose to keep theirs – for cultural or spiritual reasons, for consumption, or for the promise of its future medical potential.

With no clear plan, we decided to keep our options open. Which is why it is where it is now, lying in the freezer between the frozen peas and a half-eaten tub of ice cream. But time is ticking, and it will soon be past its best. What should I do? The most talked-about – and arguably most polarising – option is to eat it, which is known as placentophagy. Advocates claim the placenta can improve post-partum recovery, boost milk supply and help hormone regulation. It’s rich in iron, protein, B12, amino acids and hormones like oxytocin and progesterone.

But while many mothers (and even a few adventurous partners) report feeling better after consuming it, scientific evidence remains limited and inconclusive. Most medical professionals remain cautious, but that hasn’t stopped the proliferation of placenta smoothies, capsules, pâté recipes – or even DIY skin creams made from dehydrated powder.

If you do want to consume it, I am advised to consider these common methods:

• Raw Small slices blended into smoothies – best within the first 48 hours. For us, that ship has sailed.

• From frozen Ideally portioned ahead of time (we didn’t), otherwise chip off a teaspoon-sized chunk, thaw and blend.

• Cooked Like liver. Sauté with garlic and onions. It has a dense, metallic texture, by most accounts.

• Encapsulation The most popular method. The placenta is steamed (sometimes with ginger and lemon), sliced, dehydrated, ground into powder, and placed in capsules. You take a few daily like a supplement. Many doulas and post-partum specialists offer this service. But timing matters – most require it within 72 hours of birth. So for us, this option’s out.

If you do go the edible route, remember to treat it like any raw meat. Sanitary preparation and proper freezing are essential.

For those too squeamish to consider this – or looking for something more sophisticated – there are other considerations. The placenta is loaded with regenerative stem cells that can be used for medical research and treatments, including immune conditions, wound healing and potential future therapies for your child. But again, this requires forward planning. Stem-cell collection needs to happen within 72 hours of birth, and if the placenta is stored in a home freezer, it is not considered viable for medical use.

Cells4Life is the UK’s only private storage provider. For home births, they’ll send a phlebotomist in person to collect the placenta immediately after the cord is cut. Prices for this start at around £850, with ongoing storage at £145 per year, and cells are kept in liquid nitrogen at -196°C.

Donation is another option. NHS Blood and Transplant accepts donations under certain conditions and in specific hospitals. In the US, look into Be The Match, Americord, or Cord Blood Registry.

While relatively few cultures consume the placenta, many honour it through symbolic burial. In Placenta: The Forgotten Chakra (1st World Library), Robin Lim describes how families in Cambodia bury the placenta beneath a spiky bush to protect against evil spirits. Elsewhere, it’s tradition to plant a fruit tree or flowering shrub – something that grows as the child grows.

If you go this route, dig a deep hole (to deter animals), thaw the placenta, and place it beneath your chosen plant. Some people wrap it in biodegradable cloth; others mix it into compost. It becomes a living, growing tribute to your baby’s birth.

Eleven days in, our placenta’s still hanging out next to the frozen peas. I might give the smoothie a go. Or maybe we’ll bury the rest beneath something leafy and symbolic. Whatever happens, the placenta has done its job. Holding on to it – even briefly – has been a reminder of just how strange, beautiful and miraculous childbirth really is.