I held a placenta today. In my midwifery class, it's fresh, not even 24 hours old, and the midwife just pulled it out of an ice cream tub (cherry frozen yogurt, HAH) and told us we could touch it. Now I was expecting it to smell like death or something but it didn't smell like anything, I still was on the verge of throwing up, because let's be honest, it's not the prettiest thing to look at, but once I touched it I was fascinated. To think that a baby was in there, a baby grew up in there, a baby grew up in there BECAUSE of the placenta, a human being who may become a president, a serial killer, or an economist, grew up in this blob of bloody tissue that I'm holding. It was incredibly complex but so simple at the same time. I was shocked at how heavy it was, apparently the placenta is 1/3rd of the weight of the baby, and the amniotic sac was very cool, there were 2 layers. But the best part was definitely the umbilical cord. As soon as I touched it I felt like I had touched the very bond between mother and child, it's so weird to think of it, but you are your mother, or rather she is you, you'll never be separated, because of the way that you, as a human, came to be born into this world.
Fucking trippy my friends.
Anyways, it all made me think of how badly I want to have children, and give birth, and also how very grateful I am for KP, who was only a bit older than I am now when she had me and the bro. Love you mom <3
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