Placenta Teddy Bear

by Beth Shea, 10/01/09

alex green, doing it for the kids, placenta teddy bear, sustainable toy design, teddy bear made from placenta, twin teddy kit

Doing it for the Kids is a current exhibition put on by [re] design to showcase the latest, most innovative sustainable toy designs from around the globe. Among them, the Placenta Teddy Bear by designer Alex Green. A crafty alternative for those who don’t necessarily want to eat their baby’s placenta, but want to pay their respects to the life sustaining organ by turning it into a one-of-a-kind teddy bear. Green’s ‘Twin Teddy Kit’ ‘celebrates the unity of the infant, the mother and the placenta,’ and enables preparation of the placenta so it may be transformed into a teddy bear. The placenta must be cut in half and rubbed with sea salt to cure it. After it is dried out, it is treated with an emulsifying mixture of tannin and egg yolk to make it soft and pliable. Then, you craft it into a teddy bear. But is this not quite so cuddly creation cute or cringe-worthy? You tell us.

Placenta teddy - cute or creepy?

  • ADORABLE! Totally cuddle-worthy
  • BARFTASTIC! I wouldn't touch this thing with a ten foot pole

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alex green, doing it for the kids, placenta teddy bear, sustainable toy design, teddy bear made from placenta, twin teddy kit'

Contained in a glass jar, the Placenta Teddy Bear isn’t made for cuddling, but it makes quite a keepsake. Doing it for the Kids recently unveiled many additional fascinating, inventive ‘toys’ at the 100% Design Exhibition in London. The goal of the exhibition is to inspire designers, educators and parents to be more critical of the toys that shape a child’s values and the impact toy making has on the environment.

Upcoming dates for the Doing it for the Kids exhibition are:
Design Event 09 in Newcastle October 16-25
Design and Technology Show in Birmingham November 19-21

+ Doing it for the Kids

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17 Responses to “Placenta Teddy Bear”

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turnageb Says:

That is seriously f***ed up.

speaking4baby
speaking4baby Says:

Definitely on the “eewww!” side for me. I could see eating a placenta after giving birth, I could see encapsulating it, and I could see burying it somewhere special (though I’d consider that the least useful disposition of the choices). This is just a little too weird for me, LOL!

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NoQuarter Says:

This is right out of the “Shadow Man” video game. Shadow Man was dark, creepy, very creative in the story, art and music. But at the same time, disturbing, depressing.

Thumbs up for creativity, but somebody was whacked when they interpreted “sustainable toy designs”, so double thumbs down and a downvote.

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chas218 Says:

It’s as if Hannibal Lecter and FAO Scwartz got together to make a toy.

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max Says:

i find myself both fascinated and repulsed at the same time. I never looked at my childrens afterbirth and wondered what i could make out of it.. Maybe i have no imagination

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Nikki Says:

Less gross then wearing animal hide.
I see nothing wrong with it. I ate mine, but that isnt everybodies cuppa. I have the cord in the freezer, am yet to find a use. Maybe a necklace?

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BaldWonder Says:

Afterbearth. Nice.

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mom2be Says:

speaking4baby says “I could see eating a placenta after giving birth:

WTH, that’s worse

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cvolini Says:

I don’t get it. I wouldn’t mind seeing what the afterbirth looks like, but nothing further than that. Should we be saving/reusing our toenail clippings too?

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NaughtyNICUNurse Says:

Sitting in delivery room, fresh after childbirth:

“Look Honey, its your placenta.”
“Yeah, Bob…whatever shall we do with it?”
“I dunno dear, surely we can think of something, Hey, I know, what about a placenta teddy bear.”
“Great idea Bob, I’ll dry it out, put on special oils and seasonings, create a pattern and hand stitch it all together.”
“And to think, we have been eating it all these years. Now we have a toy for our child to cherish, forever and ever.”
” I love you Bob, you’re the best. What me to save the scraps for stew tomorrow?”

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Unimpressed Says:

It’s grotesque.

The awful colour, the awful stitching, the awful shape. It’s done with deliberate intent to repulse the audience and then to sit back and say “wha? You wear leather, don’t you?”

Ridiculous and vile.

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grimmm Says:

“It rubs the sea salt on its skin or it gets the hose again!”

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prettyjuls Says:

I dont know what to say.. It is weird…..and gross……..sentimental I guess.. but gross… and weird… imaginative.. but really weird… but why????? why do it

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EnglishMum.com Says:

Sorry, did someone just say ‘I ate mine’?

Bleurgh.

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koalatherapies Says:

Transforming the placenta in capsules for consumption after birth has
many benefits; reducing chances of baby blues and post-natal
depression, encourages a healthy milk supply and gives new mum a
helpful supplement of essential fats, minerals and vitamins tailored
for her own body. I find it hard to see the benefits of a placenta
teddy but keen to speak to the person who invented this unusual
tradition. Makes me chuckle. I wonder if they get any clients.
Koala Therapies.com for info on placenta encapsulation in the UK.

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gaffus Says:

is that a Damien Hirst original? worth a fortune at the White Cube Gallery. now only 17.99 at a leading toy store in your neighbourhood….

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anne Says:

I’m all for freedom of expression and art, and creativity… but that goes beyond the acceptable, to me. Something I wouldn’t even expect to find in a place like the Mutter Museum. I simply cannot believe someone actually created this (and for that statement, I apologize to the crafter, but it’s just my opinion) – it’s almost reminiscent of people who made things out of human skins during the war… or mementos serial killers in movies keep of their victims… like that container of eyelids from Haunting in Connecticut. I seriously cannot believe someone did this! It just seems *wrong*, on so many levels. Though, I’ll admit, I can’t see eating it either. That’s almost like someone drinking their own menstrual blood or something, in my mind!

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