New Mother Demands Baby’s Placenta

LAS VEGAS (CN) - Nurses at Sunrise Hospital reneged on a promise to give a mother her child's placenta, the new mom says in a pro se complaint in Clark County Court. In some Latin American cultures, and elsewhere around the world, parents bury the placenta near a tree in the yard, or in a hidden place where enemies cannot find it, as spiritual protection for the baby.

The mother says she and her husband told nurses they wanted to keep the placenta, and nurses agreed, and said the placenta had been labeled and placed in a refrigerator.

The next day, however, a head nurse informed them that they could not have the placenta - that it would be kept in the freezer for two weeks and then destroyed, the lawsuit states.

The couple wants the placenta returned immediately, and monetary damages.

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