Placenta burial is quite common in some cultures. Not to mention that some folks like to cook it and eat it to help with nutrient replacement postpartum (as made famous in an edition of Mothering magazine from 1983).

Oh, and speaking of those horrid tampons, I've been using a menstrual cup for the last two years and it's awesome! Check out http://www.divacup.com or http://www.mooncup.co.uk for more info.