New Law Lets Families Take Home Placentas
Republican Gov. Linda Lingle signed a bill in Honolulu allowing hospitals to release the placenta, which connects mother and child in the womb, for use in a traditional Hawaiian ceremony.
In Hawaiian belief, the placenta is considered a part of the child. Ceremonies in the islands include burying it under a tree, so that the growth of the tree can be used to better understand psychological and spiritual changes in the child.
State rules regulating blood-bearing products had prohibited families from taking the placenta from the hospital, the state Department of Health said.
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