Wednesday, August 8, 2012

Motherhood is not being welcomed with flowers and chocolates alone

Now motherhood is not being welcomed with flowers and chocolates alone, but with a sumptuous placenta meal too!

Well, all this is pretty much believable, but imagine ingesting this vascular organ, which is attached to the umbilical cord of the baby and develops with the uterus and is discharged immediately after child birth! The idea didn’t really come as a surprise to Dr. Sonu Nigam, a gynaecologist, who informed, “During my brief period in England, I had come across people who would take the placenta home only because it was relished as a delicious dish.” But there was a slight sign of shock when he was asked if mothers consumed it for its nutritious qualities. “I haven’t heard of such a thing in India. Although this belief has existed with many cultures, it is strange that people today consume the placenta,” replied Dr. Nigam.

Among those who find this idea effective and not appalling are the Vietnamese and Chinese, who subscribe to the views of their age-old tradition, and have found interesting ways of consuming the placenta. The Chinese drink it as a broth after boiling the placenta, while some crush it and eat the powder. Very recently, placenta capsules have also begun to be prepared by certain chefs on order. “In India, people are unaware of the fact that the placenta can be eaten. Also, there is still no concrete evidence to prove that consuming the placenta actually cures postnatal depression and other complications. Placenta contains blood, which might carry infectious diseases such as HIV and Hepatitis. So, one must be aware of that as well before blindly following any belief,” was a piece of advice shared by Dr. Divya Bajaj, a consultant. Since science, technology and even culture in India is now being emulated from the West, one can never guess if all of those people who find this idea obnoxious today, might be relishing a placenta meal tomorrow!


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