Placenta

How is the placenta delivered?

If you deliver your baby vaginally, you'll also deliver the placenta vaginally — during what's known as the third stage of labor.

After you give birth, you'll continue to have mild contractions. Your health care provider might give you a medication called oxytocin (Pitocin) to continue uterine contractions and reduce postpartum bleeding. Your health care provider might also massage your lower abdomen to encourage your uterus to contract and expel the placenta. You might be asked to push one more time to deliver the placenta.

If you have a C-section, the doctors will remove the placenta from your uterus during the surgery.

Your doctors will examine the placenta to make sure it's intact. Any remaining fragments must be removed from the uterus to prevent bleeding and infection. If you're interested, ask to see the placenta.

And no, there is no benefit to consuming the placenta.

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