By: Hettie Basil Lighttower
I want to continue on a bit about the subject of belly buttons and umbilical cords to take yet another leap and discuss what happens to the discard of umbilical cords as well as placenta after childbirth. I have never known anyone outside of the medical field to talk about such things. And it may seem interesting or really gross to you. Whichever it may be you have a choices. You can continue on reading or take a peek here and there or just say forget about it and hope for a better subject next week!
I have worked in a hospital before, but never in an operating room or department or birthing ward so the information discussed is all based on research I have done and other podcast channels who discuss things pertaining to us humans that I have listened to or watched. I do have a really close loved one out there reading this who may care to give some inside scoop to the subject.
As a matter of fact here is what she wrote in with already: “I so related to your button discussion. For my professional life I had the incredible joy of having the honor of witnessing and being a part of the process when a belly button begins to form. The miraculous plan of God when a baby is separated from its mother is humbling to witness as a neo-natal nurse. Separated but always a reminder of being connected and never alone in life. I was the one who put a small clamp on close to the abdomen that began the drying of the umbilical cord stump. You triggered many blessed memories. I wonder sometimes where all the babies’ life journeys have led them.”
I have been curious about all this cloning going on and meat grown in labs. I have been curious about how scientists come up with T-cells and DNA and other biological matter to test cells in labs to discover medicines for disease prevention. I have been curious as to how scientists have been able to clone people or do other ridiculous experiments that are hidden and not in public information forums.
Do you read scientific journals that can be found in academic libraries? I have. You would be shocked and amazed at all the new science happening pertaining to “biological matter”. Have you done that fancy DNA kit where you send your swab in and learn where your ancestors and relatives are? I have never done that. Primarily because I am not personally interested in having my DNA accessible to do whatever with.
Then I got to thinking? What happened to MY umbilical cord and MY placenta when I was born? My DNA and biological matter may be floating around out there somewhere anyway against my will and acknowledgment. Have you ever thought of such things? Maybe I am just the weirdo but I doubt it really. I was born in a hospital. But not so long ago, as a matter of fact just one generation before me, babies were born at home. So, the “leftovers” were traditionally buried or incinerated.
When I researched what happens to placentas after the birth of a baby I learned that hospitals discard the umbilical cord and placenta as hazardous material and incinerated by the facility. Does your hospital have an incinerator? Have you ever heard of a hospital having an incinerator? If you have information about this, I would like to know. But information found says they incinerate unless there were complications and materials may be sent out to pathology to examine to protect the health of either the baby or the mother.
So, how exactly is complications defined? What if there is a convenient surplus of human T-cells? What REALLY happens to your body parts when discarded? That would be a bunny trail I may not want to follow all the way.
How many TV shows or movies have you watched where there are nefarious persons killing others for organs and a black market for such things? But what do people do with them once they have them? Doing a friendly at-home transplant I doubt is what happens.
Look I know this all sounds dark and creepy. But does your hospital have an incinerator? Are these things actually incinerated on site? Are they shipped out “to the incinerator” as “hazardous material” then incinerated? Is there a black market for such items? How did cloning get started in the first place? Is it possible your one DNA has been used for cloning or growing organs or used for other experiments in the name of science? How would we even know? Why is it that so many people talk about fast food not being “real meat”? Is it full of fillers? If so what kind? I mean hamburgers these days are not like hamburgers of yester year. Have you ever read the regulations of the USDA and food suppliers?
While there is no legal allowable percentage of human DNA in food, it does allow for “natural or unavoidable defects” that are not considered health hazards. THAT is definitely reassuring. But what about the 2% of hot dog sample and the 66% of vegetarian products tested that did have human DNA in them in a report in 2015. How would that happen?
I just hope I don’t run into a clone of mine and I sure hope that my DNA has not been used for lab grown anything. I also hope that hospitals do have incinerators and that all materials are really disposed of and not used for whatever floats their boat.
Send in your notions and comments to [email protected] . And remember, kindness is contagious~*