Judge: Hospital Must Return Mom's Placenta

A woman has won a court fight to keep the placenta after her daughter's birth. She had planned to grind it up and ingest it as a way to fight postpartum depression, but now plans to bury it.

Clark County District Court Judge Susan Johnson granted a preliminary injunction Tuesday, ordering Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center in southern Nevada to return the placenta to Anne Swanson.

Hospital officials said they will comply.

The hospital had refused to give the uterine lining to Swanson following the April 12 Caesarean birth of her daughter, with officials calling it contaminated biohazardous waste.

The judge ordered the hospital not to destroy the placenta, which was frozen, and ordered that it be turned over to Swanson within two weeks.

Swanson, who was 30 when she gave birth, originally wanted to give her placenta to a friend to be dried, ground into a powder and packed into capsules. She said she now plans to dry, store and eventually bury the organ instead of eating it.

"I hope this brings about a better awareness about the benefits of placenta," she said, citing a theory that placental hormones can help control postpartum blues.

Amy Stevens, system vice president for Sunrise Health, which operates Sunrise Hospital, described the ruling as specific to Swanson. She said the hospital must comply with strict regulations in handling human biohazardous waste.

There is no Nevada law prohibiting hospitals from returning placentas to mothers. But several Las Vegas area hospitals told the Las Vegas Review-Journal the organ is usually destroyed unless a physician designates it for medical tests or a patient seeks it for specific religious or cultural reasons.

[vjhahn]

I can't say that I would want my placenta back, but this woman did. It came from her body. If she wants it, the hospital should have given it to her and skipped the possibility of a lawsuit. The hospital likely sells this sort of biohazard to other medical companies for testing, studies, etc. When people have liposuction, hospitals even sell the sucked out fat for profit.

[Netterz]

Must be some ancient cure that the FDA isnt aware of huh? This rates rght up there with the $56 million over a pair of pants. I guess maybe its like when you take your car in, your entitled to your parts back.. but this is taking that issue a little to far. And.... its a free country, the mentioned nothing about this woman having the mental capacity to raise a child. After just reading about microwaving mom, and regulate abortion, and whether or not a womans birth control should be covered by insurance or not, I think they need to be looking at steralizing addicts, and mental people, for the safety of themselves and children, man, what a country we live in huh?

[perm3800]

Actually, along with the cord, most hospitals sell them to have hormones and other things extracted from them.

As to eating it, the Earther movement and some pagans bake it in bread and eat it for a variety of reasons.

[yoopermom]

I never thought I would say this, but I COMPLETELY agree with Agnim!!! This woman has serious issues!!!

[formrusmcsgt]

I find the fact that someone would sue a hospital for the return of a placenta just so that it can be buried to be absolutely ludicrous.

[janeyre-2009]

I don't think so...

[rushlimpdrug]

mmmmmmm, placenta taste like chicken, I like mine with a wedge of lemon.
Placenta from china isn't very good though, it taste like dog food.

[agnim]

This is so disgusting! Eeeeewwww!
That woman needs to be put in a mental ward and have her tubes tied. Yuk!