You just pushed a human being out of your body. Or maybe a surgeon lifted one out. Either way, the room is a whirlwind of blankets, monitors, and the first cries of a newborn. Then, usually about five to thirty minutes later, there is a second, much smaller birth. Most people don’t even notice it. But for those who do look, or for those scrolling through placenta after birth pictures online later, the sight can be a bit of a shock.
It’s bloody. It looks like something from a sci-fi movie. It is also, scientifically speaking, the only disposable organ the human body ever grows.
I’ve seen dozens of these things in delivery rooms. Every single one is a fingerprint of the pregnancy that just ended. Some are small and compact. Others are sprawling and thick. If you’re looking at photos because you’re curious about what just came out of you—or what’s about to—you’re basically looking at the logistics hub that kept your baby alive for nine months. It’s not "gross" in the way people think; it’s just incredibly raw and functional.
What you are seeing in those raw photos
When you look at placenta after birth pictures, you’re usually seeing one of two sides. There is the "Schultze" side and the "Duncan" side. Doctors actually call them that.
The fetal side (Schultze) is the one most people find beautiful or "cool." It’s shiny, translucent, and covered in a network of blood vessels that branch out from the umbilical cord. It honestly looks like a tree, which is why people call it the "Tree of Life." These vessels were the literal highways for oxygen and glucose. On the other hand, the maternal side (Duncan) looks like raw liver. It’s dark red, lobed, and a bit "fleshy." This is where the placenta was literally zippered into the wall of the uterus.
Why the color looks so different in every shot
You might notice some placentas look bright red while others look almost purple or grayish in photos. A lot of that comes down to timing. If a photo is taken immediately, the blood is oxygenated and vivid. If it sits for twenty minutes, it darkens.
Also, calcification is a real thing. If you see white, chalky spots in placenta after birth pictures, those are calcium deposits. They are totally normal, especially in pregnancies that go past 40 weeks. It’s basically just the placenta showing its age. It’s been working overtime, and it’s starting to wear out.
The obsession with "Tree of Life" prints
Lately, there’s been a massive surge in people making art out of their placentas. You’ve probably seen the prints where the organ is pressed onto paper to create a blood-inked silhouette of a tree.
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It’s a bit polarizing.
Some parents find it deeply spiritual. They want a permanent record of the organ that nourished their child. Others find it, well, messy. If you are looking at these photos to decide if you want to do a print, keep in mind that midwives often use the umbilical cord to create the "trunk" of the tree. The length and thickness of that cord will determine how your specific print looks. A short cord makes for a stubby tree; a long one allows for those elegant, swirling "branches" you see on Instagram.
What doctors are actually looking for (it’s not for the gram)
While you might be looking at placenta after birth pictures for the aesthetics or the "wow" factor, your medical team is doing a high-stakes jigsaw puzzle.
They have to make sure it’s intact.
If a small piece of the placenta—called a cotyledon—stays inside the uterus, it’s a major medical problem. It can cause hemorrhaging or infection days after the birth. So, when the doctor spreads it out on a tray, they aren't just admiring it. They are checking the edges. They are looking for "missing pieces."
- The Membranes: They check the "bag" (the amniotic sac) to see if it’s all there.
- The Cord Insertion: Usually, the cord goes right into the middle. Sometimes it goes into the side (battledore insertion), which can be a bit of a complication during pregnancy but is usually fine once the baby is out.
- The Vessels: They count them. Two arteries, one vein. If there’s only one artery, it’s a detail they would have tracked on your 20-week scan.
Why some photos show a yellow or "gritty" placenta
Not every placenta looks like a fresh steak. If a mother had an infection like chorioamnionitis, the membranes might look yellow, opaque, or even smell a bit off. In professional medical placenta after birth pictures, you might see these used as teaching tools.
Smoking or high blood pressure can also change the "landscape" of the organ. You might see more infarcts—which are basically dead spots where the blood didn't flow as well. The placenta is a storyteller. It tells the story of how the baby was fed, how the mother's body held up, and whether the environment was optimal or stressed.
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The rise of placenta encapsulation photos
You can't talk about these pictures without mentioning the "dehydration" phase. There is a whole subculture of people who steam, slice, and dehydrate their placentas to turn them into pills.
Honestly? The science on this is pretty shaky.
The Mayo Clinic and the CDC have both raised eyebrows at this practice. The main concern is that the placenta acts as a filter. It filters out toxins and bacteria to protect the baby. When you ingest it, you might be ingesting the very stuff the placenta was trying to keep away from the fetus.
But if you look at the photos of the process, it’s fascinating from a purely culinary-oddity perspective. The placenta is sliced thin, looking almost like beef jerky, before being ground into powder.
Dealing with the "Gross-Out" Factor
It is perfectly okay to think these pictures are a bit much. We live in a culture that sanitizes birth. We see the clean, swaddled baby, but we don't see the biological "exhaust" that made the baby possible.
Looking at a placenta after birth picture is a way of acknowledging the sheer physical work of pregnancy. Your body grew a brand-new organ from scratch. That organ had its own pulse, its own blood supply, and its own expiration date. It’s the only organ that is designed to be thrown away.
If you want to take your own photo
If you're pregnant and thinking about taking your own placenta after birth pictures, tell your nurse or midwife ahead of time. They usually have no problem holding it up for you or laying it out on a clean drape.
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- Lighting matters: Hospital lighting is notoriously fluorescent and terrible. If you want a "nice" photo, try to get it near a window if you're in a birth center, or just accept that it's going to look a bit clinical.
- Ask for a "cord wash": If the cord is covered in blood, you can't see the beautiful "spiral" of the vessels. A quick rinse makes the photo much clearer.
- The "Tree" shot: Ask them to spread the membranes out. This gives the photo a sense of scale and shows the "nest" your baby lived in.
Cultural and spiritual perspectives
In many cultures, the placenta is not "waste." In some Southeast Asian and African traditions, it is buried in a specific location to tether the child to their ancestral land. In these cases, you won't find many photos, as the process is considered sacred and private.
Conversely, in the Western "crunchy" movement, the photo is the point. It's a badge of honor. It's a "Look what my body did" moment. Neither approach is wrong, but the shift from "medical waste" to "sacred object" is why we see so many more of these images popping up in our feeds today.
What to do if you see something "weird" in your photo
If you are looking at your own placenta after birth pictures and you see something that looks like a clot or a dark bruise, don't panic. Placentas are supposed to have clots on the maternal side—that’s how they detached.
However, if you had a "circumvallate placenta" (where the membranes wrap back around the edges), it might look like it has a thick white ring. This is something your doctor would have noted, but it makes for a very distinct-looking photo.
Basically, unless your doctor was worried in the delivery room, the "weirdness" you see in the photo is just biology being messy.
Next Steps for New Parents
If you are curious about the health of your placenta or want to preserve it, your first step is a conversation with your OB-GYN or midwife before you hit the 36-week mark.
- Check Hospital Policy: Some hospitals classify the placenta as "biohazardous waste" and won't let you take it home without specific paperwork.
- Hire a Specialist: If you want prints or encapsulation, find a certified placenta secondary provider who follows OSHA bloodborne pathogen standards.
- Pathology: If there were complications during your birth, the hospital will send the placenta to pathology. You can usually still ask for a photo before they take it away.
- Research: Look into the Cochrane reviews regarding placenta consumption if you’re on the fence about encapsulation, as they provide the most unbiased look at available data.
Understanding the placenta is part of understanding the full cycle of birth. Whether you find the photos fascinating or a bit too "intense," there’s no denying that this organ is the unsung hero of the human experience.