Author(s): Fiossi-Kpadonou É, Kpadonou GT, Azon-Kouanou Aand Aflya MG
Background: In Benin, placenta requires a heavily symbolic meaning. It is handed over to the family immediately after delivery and becomes an object of special care, even before the first body care to the newborn. Objective: To study the sociocultural considerations variants of placenta processing and their influence on the future of children in Benin. Methods: It was a prospective cross-sectional and descriptive study, referred on families of children aged 0-15 days. 180 questionnaires administered on a purposive sampling method, 150 were actually exploited. Results: For 84.7% of the families, placenta has been handled in the traditional ritual unchanged and in 15.3% of cases placenta manipulations different from sociocultural norms were observed. Placenta was buried in 81.3%, including 39.3% without accessories, and immersed in 07.3% of families. Conclusion: There is a strong link between the child and/or his family and placenta seen in the role of conservation, protection, requiring caution to the place of processing, eye and bad intentions. For centuries, and in almost all traditions, sociocultural considerations and care to placenta also maintain a certain psychological and social balance, hence its interest in psychotherapy. Will these sociocultural considerations of placenta and its strong link with the future of the child resist a long time to the changes of the society?
