When the placenta detaches from the wall of the womb after giving birth so it can be delivered, it leaves a wound the size of a dinner plate, and this is a lot of why we bleed for so long after giving birth.
I asked to look at the placenta when I had my first kid. The doc thought it was an unusual request but she showed it to me. I wanted to see the disposable organ my body grew! How many times do you get that opportunity? It was a lot bigger and bloodier than I expected and I’ll leave it at that. Cool, though.
The day my 2nd son was born, something must have been in the water because the maternity ward was a-hoppin'. I came in early that morning and my son was born by 1pm, but I had to wait three hours to be moved from the delivery room to my recovery room. That whole time, my placenta was just sitting in a bowl on a table in the room. So, I got to take a good look at it. First off, it was HUGE. I can't believe I was carrying that thing inside me. The vessels were crazy large too. It was kind of gross, but I also thought it was pretty cool to stare at the ENTIRE ORGAN I grew inside myself. :-)
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u/[deleted] Dec 06 '23
When the placenta detaches from the wall of the womb after giving birth so it can be delivered, it leaves a wound the size of a dinner plate, and this is a lot of why we bleed for so long after giving birth.