Your Placenta Rights
In California, there are no specific laws prohibiting the release of your Placenta, and a major legal precedent (Swanson v. Sunrise - July 2007) established a patient's right to their Placenta, requiring Hospitals to release it upon signing a Liability Waiver; however, some Hospitals may resist due to infection concerns or poor handling protocols, so clearly communicating your wishes and signing a Release Form (like a "Specimen Release Waiver") is crucial to ensure that the Hospital does not withhold it from you.
Mothers birthing in a Hospital setting should be proactive and informed about their Hospital's policies regarding the Placenta. The medical staff should always be notified before the birth (ideally in writing, such as a Birth Plan) that you are taking your Placenta home with you. Your plan to take your Placenta home with you should be mentioned again upon admission to the Hospital, and verbally stated again to the OB & Nursing Staff overseeing your delivery.
Some Hospitals have policies on Bio-Hazardous materials, requiring a Release of Liability Waiver to be signed, and/or have requirements for how the Placenta must be stored while on Hospital property. It is important to comply to your Hospitals' particular requirements so that you can maintain your rights to your Placenta while on their property.
Occasionally, your OB could determine that the Placenta needs to go to the Pathology department for examination. A Placenta that has been examined is not usually returned to the parents due to cross contamination with other Bio-Hazardous chemicals in the examination facility. Even if the Placenta is returned, it is no longer safe to consume.
It is a common Hospital procedure that Placentas are examined in twin births to examine and document Placental, Amniotic Sac, and Umbilical Cord developmental structures. Placentas are also commonly examined in premature births to determine the cause for prematurity. Numerous other conditions, such as Gestational Diabetes, IUGR, and Meconium, may also flag your Placenta for examination according to some Hospital's policy.
Sometimes the information obtained from Placental examination can affect the medical treatment of the Mother and Child. Sometimes the information obtained will only affect medical treatment for future pregnancies. However, often times, the information obtained is collected exclusively for Hospital paperwork requirements and/or for data collection for a current study being done at that Hospital. Different institutions have varying standards for which Placentas are sent to Pathology; in some Hospitals, the choice is up to the Doctor's discretion.
If Medical Staff strongly insist that your Placenta be sent to Pathology, you have the right to be fully informed as to the reasons for their recommendation. It is their legal obligation to inform you of why they are recommending the Placenta be examined and to answer as many questions as you have about their recommendation.
If the Hospital insists on taking your Placenta, and, after receiving a full explanation regarding the reasoning behind their recommendation, you choose NOT to allow them to take your Placenta, you have full legal rights to what is called, "Informed Refusal".
Even if you initially agreed, you have the right to change your mind and refuse Placental examination, even if you have already signed a form agreeing to relinquish your Placenta.
You have the right to request and receive a copy of your medical records in order to get a second opinion and to keep your Placenta with you while you do so.
Every woman has the right to individualized care that is respectful of her culture, ethnicity, religion, choices, and values.
Once you have notified the Hospital (ideally in writing) that you insist on taking your Placenta home with you, any attempts made by Hospital staff to seize your Placenta legally constitutes a "trespass to the person" (assault and/or battery), since the Placenta is in fact, part of your body.
In addition to clearly communicating your plan to take your Placenta home with you, the best method to protect your Placenta from confiscation is to never surrender it in the first place. It is usually much more difficult to get your Placenta back from Hospital staff than it is to never allow access to begin with.
In a Hospital birth, it is imperative to assign someone on the birth team (your partner, a trusted family member or friend, your Doula) the responsibility of properly storing the Placenta so that it is not lost or contaminated.
If your Placenta is being recommended for Examination by Pathology, ask these 3 questions BEFORE making a decision:
1) "Will the medical knowledge obtained through Examination affect, one way or the other, the recommended care and/or treatment for Me or my Baby?"
2) "Can a PIECE of the Placenta (rather than the entire organ) be tested by Pathology to provide you with the medical knowledge you are seeking?"
3) “Would the medical knowledge that you are seeking be able to be obtained by an in-room visual examination of the Placenta or a blood test rather than sending the Placenta to Pathology?”