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Doctors should account for placenta after childbirth to avoid trouble – Experts
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.”
By Gloria Ikibah
Chairman of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Comrade Grace Ike, has charged newly elected executive members to prioritise journalists’ welfare and uphold values of accountability, integrity, and professionalism.
Speaking after the swearing-in of the new officers on Saturday, Comrade Ike reminded them that service in the union demands unity, transparency, and a firm commitment to ethical journalism.
“This union stands on the pillars of welfare, integrity and professionalism. You have been chosen to serve, not to be served,” she said.
The by-election, held to fill three vacant positions unoccupied since the last NUJ-FCT elections on December 4, 2024, saw 54 accredited members cast their votes in a peaceful atmosphere.
Comrade Sharon Emephia of the Correspondents Chapel emerged as Assistant Secretary with 52 votes, while Comrade Daniel Henry Abimiku from the Information Chapel secured the Financial Secretary position with 52 votes as well, and Comrade Ukoko-Tega of Aso Radio/TV Chapel was elected Internal Auditor, also polling 52 votes. A few ballots were declared invalid in each category.
Chairperson of the election committee and Chairman of the National Association of Women Journalists (NAWOJ), Comrade Bassey Ita Ikpang, announced the results alongside committee members Comrade Tony Akowe and Comrade Nkechi Onyeneke. The winners were administered the oath of office by Barrister Ehidiamen Isibor and issued certificates of return.
Comrade Ike commended the electoral committee for conducting a transparent process and thanked union members for their active participation. She officially dissolved the committee following the successful completion of its assignment.
The current leadership of the NUJ-FCT also includes Vice Chairman Comrade Ndambabo Yahaya, Secretary Comrade Jide Oyekunle, Treasurer Mrs. Sandra Udeike, and Ex-Officio member Comrade Ebriku John Friday.
Catholicism has rarely been more prominent in US politics as the Trump administration openly embraces advisers and officials who proudly say faith has shaped their politics.
But any jubilation on the American Make America Great Again right about the new Pope this week quickly dissipated as key voices from Donald Trump’s Maga movement came to a disappointed conclusion: the first American Pope does not appear to be “America first”.
Little is known about the political leanings of Pope Leo XIV, born Robert Francis Prevost in Chicago.
He has voiced concerns for the poor and immigrants, chosen a name that may reference more liberal church leadership, and he appears to have both supported the liberal-leaning Pope Francis and criticised the US president’s policies on social media.
But the president so far has said only that Leo’s election was a “great honour” for the US. Still, some of Trump’s most prominent supporters were quick to attack Pope Leo, lambasting him as a possible challenge to Trump and on the perception that he will follow Pope Francis in areas like immigration.
“I mean it’s kind of jaw-dropping,” Trump’s former chief strategist Steve Bannon told the BBC on Friday, speaking of Leo’s election.
“It is shocking to me that a guy could be selected to be the Pope that had had the Twitter feed and the statements he’s had against American senior politicians,” said Bannon, a hard-right Trump loyalist, practising Catholic and former altar boy.
And he predicted that there’s “definitely going to be friction” between Leo and Trump.
The Pope’s brother, John Prevost, told The New York Times that he thinks his brother would voice his disagreements with the president.
“I know he’s not happy with what’s going on with immigration,” he said. “I know that for a fact. How far he’ll go with it is only one’s guess, but he won’t just sit back. I don’t think he’ll be the silent one.”
Recent survey data shows that about 20% of Americans identify as Catholic, according to the non-partisan Pew Research Center.
About 53% identify with or lean towards the Republican Party, though there’s plenty of nuance, too: America’s two Catholic presidents, John F Kennedy and Joe Biden, were both Democrats. And nearly two-thirds of US Catholics believe abortion should be legal in all or most circumstances – a departure from the Church’s current stance.
US Catholics also broadly supported Pope Francis: 78% of those surveyed in February viewed him favorably, including a majority of Catholic Republicans.
A number of Catholics In the new Pope’s home city of Chicago, on Thursday, aired disappointment with President Trump and said they hoped Pope Leo XIV would follow the path of his predecessor.
“We hope he’ll continue with Francis’s agenda going forward,” said Rick Stevens, a Catholic deacon from New Jersey who happened to be visiting Chicago when he heard the news.
The US Conference of Catholic Bishops, which leads and coordinates US Catholic activities, celebrated Pope Leo’s election and the message it sends.
“Certainly, we rejoice that a son of this nation has been chosen by the cardinals, but we recognise that he now belongs to all Catholics and to all people of good will,” the conference said in a statement. “His words advocating peace, unity, and missionary activity already indicate a path forward.”
Though Maga supporters represent a small subset of US Catholics, it’s one with outsized access to conservative media and Trump’s ear.
On Bannon’s War Room podcast – known for its hard-right, pro-Trump bent – one guest after another heaped criticism on the new Pope.
“This guy has been massively embraced by the liberals and the progressives,” said Ben Harnwell, a journalist who led Bannon’s efforts to establish what he calls a “gladiator school” for the “Judeo-Christian West” outside of Rome.
“He is one of their own… he has [Pope] Francis’s DNA in him,” Harnwell said.
Jack Posobiec, another Maga commentator dialing in from Rome, was blunt: “This choice of the American cardinal was done as a response, as a message to President Trump.”
The full picture of what led to Pope Leo’s selection on Thursday is still emerging and church decisions don’t map neatly onto US politics. Still, watchers around the world have pored over Pope Leo’s social media profiles in search of clues about his leanings and beliefs.
An X account under his name, with tweets going as far back as 2015, shares links to criticism of Trump’s approach to immigration and hints at other political views, such as stricter gun control.
In February, the account sharply rebuked the US vice-president by posting a link to an opinion piece titled “JD Vance is wrong: Jesus doesn’t ask us to rank our love for others”.
The account also posted a link to a letter from Pope Francis after he clashed with Vance over church doctrine and immigration. Vance – a Catholic convert – had given an interview in defence of the Trump administration’s immigration policies.
Vance has routinely invoked his faith in defense of the administration, particularly immigration policies, which the White House has said put “America first”.
“There is a Christian concept that you love your family and then you love your neighbour, and then you love your community, and then you love your fellow citizens, and then after that, prioritise the rest of the world. A lot of the far left has completely inverted that,” Vance told Fox News.
But US Democrats were not spared either on the account, which has more than a decade of posts. They appear to support Catholic employers who refuse to pay for contraceptives via employee health plans, and following the 2016 US presidential election, one post links to an article accusing Democrat Hillary Clinton of ignoring pro-life Catholic voters.
The BBC asked the Vatican to confirm the account was Leo’s, but did not receive a response.
Vice-President Vance told conservative broadcaster Hugh Hewitt on Friday: “I try not to play the politicisation of the Pope game.
“I’m sure he’s going to say a lot of things that I love. I’m sure he’ll say some things that I disagree with, but I’ll continue to pray for him and the Church despite it all and through it all, and that’ll be the way that I handle it.”
The new Pope’s LGBTQ views are also unclear, but some groups, including the conservative College of Cardinals, believe he may be less supportive than Pope Francis.
Matt Walsh, a commentator with the conservative Daily Wire, wrote: “There are some good signs and bad signs with this new Pope. I want to see what he actually does with his papacy before I pass any kind of judgment.”
But some of the most dedicated Maga supporters already have made up their minds.
Laura Loomer, a far-right influencer who has Trump’s ear, swaying the president on top personnel decisions, called the new Pope “anti-Trump, anti-Maga, pro-open Borders, and a total Marxist like Pope Francis”.
Bannon, who had suggested Leo as a dark horse for the papacy, predicted tensions between the White House and Vatican – and said they could even tear apart American Catholics.
“Remember, President Trump was not shy about taking a shot at Pope Francis,” he said.
“So if this Pope – which he will do – tries to come between President Trump and his implementation of the mass deportation programme, I would stand by.” BBC
By Gloria Ikibah
The Clerk to the National Assembly, Kamoru Ogunlana, has stressed the urgent need for the Nigerian Parliament to adopt digital technology, describing it as a necessity in today’s world rather than a choice.
Ogunlana made the remark during his opening address at a three-day retreat organised by the National Assembly in partnership with the Policy and Legal Advocacy Centre (PLAC). The event, which began on Friday, was supported by the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), and held under the theme “Building an Accountable, Transparent and Resilient Parliament: The Role of the National Assembly Top Management.”
According to him, “the use of technology in the Nigerian Parliament is not an option but a necessity,” especially as legislative processes around the world are becoming increasingly digital.
He pointed out that the retreat’s theme directly addresses the ongoing shifts and demands within the National Assembly, offering a critical moment to rethink approaches, plan strategically, and implement meaningful reforms.
“This presents a vital opportunity to reflect, strategize, and lay actionable plans that will shape the future of the National Assembly Service,” Ogunlana stated.
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