I’ve had four placentas to deal with from homebirths of the four Canadian daughters.

Didn’t involve eating.

Grub Street New York reports Placenta Healing Arts of New York City can make that placenta into supplement capsules. The company's owner points out that the process will make actually eating that placenta easier: "It seems a little less personal than eating a piece of meat that you know, came from your body."

According to the website of Placenta Healing, the placenta is ideally processed in the mother's home within 2-3 days of the birth, though a previously frozen placenta can also be encapsulated and consumed. Occasionally I will do the work in my home if the mother so desires. The method employed is based on a recipe from Traditional Chinese Medicine and yields approximately 80-110 capsules that are taken throughout the postpartum period. Nutrients and hormones are replenished, supporting the new mother as her energy returns, encouraging an abundant milk supply and helping to ward off postpartum depression.

Whatever. And however babies are born, the important thing is the mother is comfortable in her choices and the politics take a backseat to health and safety.