Tillie the longest I have heard of is 7 hours.

That story here

But my midwife for my first birth, in Ireland, said she once heard of a woman who took until the following day to release her placenta. She told me this before I gave birth, as a first time mother - I think what she was trying to do is get me totally relaxed about the placenta, not worrying a bit, but reassured that no matter how long it took, she would be patient and not rush me. In the end, after a lovely primip homebirth, my placenta came about an hour and a half after the birth. I was so caught up with meeting my baby that this one and a half hours only felt like a few minutes to me.

When the post-birth atmosphere is kept quiet and respectful, with the needs of the baby and mother paramount, you know placentas do usually come within an hour or two - in my experience - and Gloria's "30 minute third stage" is quite common. But it is one of those paradoxes, where we need to "reverse the energy": the more pressure we put on a mother to give birth, the longer and harder it will be. The more pressure we put on a mother to release her placenta, the harder it will be for her to do so. The more pressure you put on a man to 'get it up' the less likely he'll be able to! Oxytocin just does not respond well to pressure or time pressure! So we have to do "Midwife Tai Chi" and 'reverse the energy'" by reversing the expectation and pressure on the mother to produce a placenta, the more likely it is she can relax, not worry about it, focus on falling in love with her baby .... and what do you know - look here's a placenta!

The After Birth Bliss tea might be just the thing for you too.