>on another related note...years ago i read an article in Mother Earth News
>....how to prepare the human placenta after the baby was born...then eat
the
>placenta. they said it was very good for revitalising the mother after
giving
>birth.
>does not sound appealing to me.

In some cultures the placenta is dried and kept until the baby is an
adult
and a piece is given to the child when sick.
lot of animals eat their placenta .
my wife ate a small  piece of the placenta after the birth and it
provoqued
intense contractions . It can be used to stop the bleeding .
jean-claude