stupid question but wife wants me to confirm

M

mwong222

Registered User
Hi all,

What does the HK hospitals do with the placenta after the birth?

As a foreigner, myself i feel the question is stupid. As far as i know hospitals should be disposing of it as biohazard waste.

But my wife is mainland chinese and because of how the China local hospitals operates, my wife wants me to confirm that it will be disposed of properly or else she wants me to have the hospital give it to me to be disposed of.

I don't want to ask the hospital if i don't have too. Don't ask me why she wants to know this. It is a chinese thing and leave it at that.
 
how exactly does she expect you to dispose of it?
what does she consider "properly"?

there are no dumb questions, but i would assume that, as you said, it would be disposed of as bio-hazardous materials...
is she afraid someone is going to cook it up for dinner or something?
 
They are disposed of as biohazard waste.

I tried to organise to take my placenta from QMH after the birth of my 1st son, but it was the one thing that I couldn't get my own way on.

I discussed it with DR's before the birth, but they will not budge on this policy.
It is treated like any other organ or limb that is removed through surgery.

I guess your wife is concerned that it will be sold and used in Chinese medicine?
 
I think that the concern might be that it is used for science or experimentation as the placenta also contains stem cells--as does the umbilical cord. That is actually a valid question--my husband and I asked ourselves that just the other day, "Hmm...whatever did become of the placenta?" However, I had my baby in the USA and my husband was there at the birth coaching me, catching the baby and cutting the umbilical cord and actually saw them put it in the biohazard disposal bin--so we know exactly what happened. Also, related, just last week, an expat couple here showed my husband and I a certificate they won at a fancy fund-raising dinner in HK--it was for a discount on a facial procedure in which they actually inject HUMAN placental cells into your face! If you think I'm joking, I can scan the certificate and post it. So...somehow, somewhere, someone is getting hold of human placental tissue...or else they are just lying about the treatment. Strange world.
 
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In traditional Chinese medicine placenta is considered to be of high medicinal value. It is dried, ground and mixed with food or ingested within capsules. There is something called Placentophagia which I dont want to describe here.
I think Queen Mary must be disposing off the placenta as Biohazard waste or else if there are complications in pregnancy/ delivery it is send for testing after which it must be getting disposed. When I delivered in Queen Mary in my hospital records I saw it mentioned "Placenta sent for testing".
 
They do standard tests with placental tissue and cord blood, such as congenital hypothyroidism, on all births.
Much better than sticking extra needles in babies.
 
yes, my wife is afraid they will sell it to people for food. both of us prefer not to have anyone, expecially a stranger, eating our son's placenta. i can understand if it is part of the culture (my wife's aunt ate a placenta and after a web search, it seems to be praticed in some cultures) but since i don't practice it, i will not allow it to happen to my son's placenta.

i would just throw it in the trash at home if allowed to take it home. this way i know it has been thrown away.

glad to know it will be disposed of properly.
 
Keep in mind that HK is not a third world county and they conform to all international standards.
 
What's happens to your placenta?

I also wanted to take home the placenta following the birth of my son's (in 2005 and 2007). I had to meet with the Head Midwife at QMH and put my request into writing. Before both births she agreed in principle. In the hospital bag I packed a tupperware box for my husband to take it home in.

Both births took their own direction (not to the birth plan), as do all births! So in the end due to unforeseen circumstances I was unable to take either of them home. (Both boys are well and healthy and that of course was the most important thing).

Anyway the point of this rambling is, that when meeting with the Head Midwife on both occasions she said to me that in the "past" (did not specify how many years ago). That placenta's were indeed sold for traditional chinese medicine. Of course now days they are disposed of a clinical waste. In the UK this is usually incineration.
 
Jo Bowd--wow, that's interesting. I think that you probably have the most practical experience with this situation. And as you did mention it's not that unfathomable that placenta's were used in the past--not necessarily "third world"--just different.
 
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