By Francesca Hangeior

Leading health experts have said doctors should ensure they account for the placenta of women after childbirth to avoid getting into trouble with their family members.

The physicians revealed that many doctors had been harassed by family members of women who delivered in their hospitals for not being able to account for the placenta.

According to the senior health practitioners although there was no scientific basis for placenta collection, some Nigerians insisted on collecting it after childbirth due to cultural beliefs.

Recall that in March 2024, the police in Kwara State arrested a doctor and three nurses following the disappearance of the umbilical cord and placenta of a newborn baby at Government Cottage Hospital, Iloffa in the Oke-Ero Local Government Area of the state.

The mother, identified as Mrs C. Williams, a class teacher at Orota Secondary School, Odo-Owa, was reported to have had the child on Sunday night but was not given the umbilical cord and the placenta by the hospital’s workers.

It was gathered that the health workers were detained by the general Investigation unit of the State Criminal Investigation Department of the command in Ilorin.

A Consultant Obstetrician and Gynaecologist, Dr. Joseph Akinde, told our correspondent that some family members were so crazy about the placenta to the point that they could sue the doctor if he failed to provide it after delivery.

Akinde, who is a former chairman, Society of Gynaecology and Obstetrics of Nigeria, Lagos State chapter, said the placenta, in some cultures in Nigeria, especially in the eastern part, is highly valued.

He explained, “We have people that are superstitious. If a doctor cannot account for the placenta, he can be fought to any length, especially in the eastern part of the country.

“Some people bury the placenta in designated places. Their belief is that no matter where the child grows, he will always trace his path to where the placenta is buried.

“Some people believe that the placenta could be used for ritual purposes, hence their insistence on taking possession of it.

“So, that is why some families are so crazy about it that if a doctor cannot account for it, they might even want to take him to court.”

Akinde pointed out that some people believe that the destiny of the child is linked to whatever is done with the placenta.

“But there is no medical basis for all these and there is no scientific basis for such belief,” he warned.

“So, many doctors have been harassed because they could not account for the placenta. I remember some time ago, a family made a hell of noise because a doctor in one of the government hospitals where the woman delivered could not account for the placenta.

“They went to the press and they were making noise that the doctor had sold the placenta of their baby, accusing the doctor of selling the destiny of the baby.”

The gynaecologist urged doctors to always make sure that they account for the placenta in order to save themselves from accusations.

He suggested that doctors should always ask family members of the woman if they want to collect the placenta or not before discarding it.

A past Chairman, Nigerian Medical Association, Cross River State chapter, Dr. Innocent Abang, also corroborated Akande’s statement, saying many people are steeped in traditional beliefs and practices about the placenta, though such practice has no scientific basis.

Abang said, “They believe that if somebody picks a baby’s placenta and buries it somewhere, that is where the child’s destiny is buried.

“So, there are a lot of connotations attached to it. Most times, family members take it themselves and go and bury it under a tree. Sometimes, they plant coconut atop the placenta.

“They believe that as the coconut is growing, that is the child growing. As it blossoms, they believe that the life of the child will blossom. So, there are a lot of spiritual, traditional and cultural connotations attached to the placenta. It is really funny.”

The physician noted that medically, immediately after a child is born, the child has no business with the placenta, stressing also that the collection of the placenta by family members has no link with medicine.

“But some family members can sue a doctor or burn down his hospital if he fails to produce the placenta.

“Many families do not joke with it. If the doctor mistakenly throws it away, that doctor is in trouble. They will read many meanings to it.

“Many doctors have suffered at the hands of family members of women after delivery because of the placenta. I have seen where a family member made serious trouble in a hospital over placenta. But those who have no attachment to the placenta are not bothered,” he said.

He, however, said, “In medical practice, anything that you bring out of a patient must be shown to the patient.”