About eating the placenta...

[sharita]

It took quite a few pregnancies after hearing about this to get my nerve up.  I was all for it last time when my midwife offered to encapsulate mine for me free of charge.  However, there was a mishap with my refrigerated placenta at her house when several days passed of back to back unexpected marathon births left her memory a bit fuzzy and she forgot about it.  Poor placenta went bad.  Oh well.  I did suffer moderate PPD but managed to get through it.  However, this time I am definately for doing this.

The more I read on the benefits the more I am convinced.  I mean, think about it.  Why do animals in the wild do this?  One, to preplace valuable nutrients lost during the pregnancy and birth, also gives them that boost of happy hormones to be able to care for their young, and also to get rid of it so that predators aren't attracted.  Okay, so I may not have to worry about hiding my young from would-be predators ready to gobble them up, but with all the beneficial hormones they have found to be contained in the placenta, I am definitely wanting to try it.

So... My question is.  For those who know anything about this, have experience with it, or just curious and done any research yourselves, has anyone come across anything suggesting if there is a benefit of consuming in a more raw state (such as tiny frozen bits in smoothie) vs encapulating which requires baking where some nutrients or hormones may be lost?  I am also going to ask my midwife.  I have read tons of threads on this so far and the idea I liked best was after rinsing really well (as I have read, the only thing that will make it have much of a taste is blood so if you rinse all of that away you are good) cutting it into chunks and filling an ice tray or two.  Then, using 1-2 ice cubes worth of placenta a day, making a smoothie using lots of strawberries, banana and OJ (as anything high in Vit C helps with iron absorbsion.  I hear you can't taste the placenta at all, just the fruit.

Anyone else done this or plan to try it?

[CBEmomma]

I encapsulated mine. I thought about eating it raw, but I have a hard time chewing meat up enough to swallow as it is (always have had this problem) so I encapsulated it. I had horrible PPD with my first, and nothing at all with my second. Recovery really was amazing the second time, but that probably has to do a lot with how I gave birth than anything. But emotionally I felt great, and I had a lot of energy and a bountiful supply of milk, both opposite from the first time around.

[noahs.mom06]

I am planning to do a combination of methods, since I'm going to also be offering encapsulation as a service and want to know personally how the different methods affect me. I'm going to do some raw for smoothies, some raw, blended, dehydrated, and then encapsulated; and some steamed and dehydrated before encapsulating, traditional chinese medicine style.

[rebecca_n]

I froze half of mine in chunks for smoothies (froze on a cookie sheet then put in a freezer bag

   recipe: 1-2 bananas, 8 large strawberries, 1 cup orange juice, a chunk or two of placenta, blend till smooth, then add 1/2 cup either ice cream or yogurt and blend for 30 seconds

you cant taste the placenta at all

the other half  i did the capsules

being attacked by toddler ack! 

[emily11megan]

I did a lotus birth, so couldn't encapsulate (i think not, anyway).  I cut a chunk of the placenta off after about 6 hours and cut that into pill-sized pieces.  I swallowed them (5) like pills. I feel better mentally and have much more milk than I did with my first.  Maybe a coincidence, but I'd do it again.  Good luck!

[evdakia]

I encapsulated my own placenta and now offer it as a service for women in my area. I 100% believe in placenta medicine from my first hand experience. Encapsulation is the most palatable way to ingest the placenta and it also offers the benefit of long term use. The bottom of my FAQ section talks a little bit about the difference about the raw & TCM methods. Also, you can do encapsulation in conjuction with a lotus birth. When I had my second I did not know that it was possible to do both, so I opted to do encapsulation instead because of my history of PPD with my first. Later I found out that their is a trick to enable you to do both. My FAQ section also has this info:

http://placentamom.weebly.com/faq.html

[xelakann]

My midwife encapsulated mine. It was a lot to get over mentally, so it was the easiest way for to me do it. I had about 75 pills, I took them for two or three weeks. I was saving them for when I went into menopause, but I ended up having a hysterectomy a few weeks ago so now I am taking them again to help post surgery.

[Nicole730]

I had it encapsulated it last time (my parents did it for me).  I did have a few raw pieces in a smoothie the morning I gave birth.  I could not taste it at all and next time I will be just cutting, blending it and freezing it into cubes in the freezer.  Maybe I will encapsulate some, depending on how much I have.  But since I drink a smoothie everyday, I think that is the route to go. 

[mollycce]

I have become a recent convert/evangelist about placenta encapsulation (I'm 3 weeks pp today). With my first three babies I didn't use the placenta for anything. I felt completely wiped out following those births. Powerful and strong while births, knocked to my knees postpartum. I did not experience PPD that I am aware of it (when I re-read journals from those times I see a PPD-ish "glint"), but I was physically worn out and just weak and invalid feeling. With my most recent baby (Jan 19), not only did I consume a raw bit within an hour after birth (held it under my tongue and then swallowed it with a drink of tea. Very proud of myself about this!) My doula encapsulated it for me and I've been taking it since the birth. I have never had a better postpartum--I have plenty of energy, I feel good, my color is good, I'm not weak, I don't feel like an invalid. I went straight back to teaching my online class. I feel well-rested. Etc., etc. I'm a believer!

[Italiamom]

I had mine encapsulated with DS1, and I still had pretty bad PPD (although my post-partum living situation was exceptionally stressful, and DS1 was a terrible sleeper from day 1).  But I often wonder what would have happened if I hadn't done it all!

With the little one I'm currently cooking, I'm planning to do a lot more of it "raw."  I'll eat part of the placenta fresh, immediately postpartum, in a smoothie.  I'll probably have a small portion of it encapsulated, because it is really nice to have something that's good for a looooong time.  I'll take another small portion of it to make a tincture with.  And then I'll take the majority of it to freeze to do in smoothies for the first few weeks postpartum.

I have a friend who had her baby about a month ago, and just couldn't afford to have any encapsulated.  So she just had her partner cut it into some larger cubes for smoothies, smaller (pill sized) chunks to swallow alone, and then made a tincture with the small portion.  She's been feeling far and away better than after the birth of her first daughter.

Placenta medicine is powerful medicine.  If the encapsulation is free, it would be worth encapsulating a portion if for no other reason than to have down the road in case of other womanly illness.  I know a poster above mentioned she's taking hers after a hysterectomy... That's a pretty powerful way to provide some self healing!

[briannas auntie]

I read in a book one time that someone used the placenta like stew meat and made soup with it.  I guess it could be used that way.  When I have a baby, I plan on just having mine turned into capsules.

I don't know what a lotus birth is, so I don't know what you do there.

Jessie