Thoughts on placenta encapsulation or otherwise consuming the placenta?

[staryla]

Any moms who have been there done that?  Does it actually help with post-partum feelings?

While I do have friends IRL who have made 'placenta stews' or some such...that is...ummm... a little too far out of my comfort zone.  But there is a doula in our area who does placenta encapsulation and gives you your placenta in nice, easy to swallow (in more ways than one) pill form. 

As I reflect more and more on my first birth I am very surprised at how many of my memories are dark.  I was very overwhelmed, exhausted, isolated, stressed out, in pain, you name it.  I never once thought I had post-partum depression, and I still don't think I did.  I didn't really have very much time to reflect on my emotional state then, but looking backwards I do not want to end up in the same emotional place with this baby as I did with #1.

I'm intrigued by this idea of placenta encapsulation, but it is very pricey and I'm not sure I can justify the cost.  I think I will take my placenta home just in case and then wait and see how things go.  Anyone have any thoughts?  Is it just a scam?

[sharita]

I have heard so many wonderful things about it that I am definitely on board this time around.  I can't afford the cost of the encapsulation but my midwife offered to let me use the equiptment and give me instructions on now to do it for free.  I am not going to feel like that with a newborn, a toddler, a 9 yr old, and 3 other kids part time that I share custody of with their dad.  I am going to be worn out those first few weeks.

So.., I am just going to clean it, cut it up, and freeze it in chunks in an icecube tray or two.  Then ziploc bag it and use one cube per day in a smoothie with strawberry, banana and OJ.  REad in one of the "eating placenta" posts on here that this is what one mama did.  Sounded like my best option.

 It may not last as long that way but it's better than nothing and I heard it makes the world of difference with energy level, emotional state, and recovery.  Heard you can't even taste it. 

[Mommy2Austin]

I have consumed both of my younger children's placentas (and will do the same this time around!) DH chopped it up shortly after birth into 1"-2" chunks and froze them (he attempted the encapsulation himself, but it was messy and time-consuming.) Ice cube trays work well for this! I had a "fresh" placenta smoothie right after birth and then used the frozen chunks at my leisure when I needed a pick me up in the days/weeks that followed. We used frozen fruit and juice to make the smoothies (a little cream if I wanted it to be more milk shake-ish) and other than a slight metallic kick to it you couldn't really taste anything besides the fruit. It really did help to keep me on an even keel in the weeks that followed birth. My recovery time was significantly less than with my hospital birth/no placenta consumption birth.

[Mamatoabunch]

I had pp issues w/ my 9th and less w/ my 10th, but am now open to this, dehydrated and encapsulated. I told my dh and kids and they are on board w/ doing it. Does anyone have a link to how it can be done at home?

[tracymom1]

I am going to encapsulate this time around. I wanted to do it last time, but was intimidated by the whole thing and just let it to. I regretted it because I had a good 10 months or so of pretty bad PPD - which would have lasted longer, I'm sure , if I hadn't tried hypnotherapy.

http://tryingtobringadreamtolife.blogspot.com/2009/08/diy-placenta-encapsulation-steps-for-at.html is a good link for instructions with pictures. Since we got a refund from my midwife, I may take this money and spend it on a doula to come and do it for me... not sure yet...

[astar326]

here is another link http://www.drmomma.org/2010/08/happy-pills-placenta-encapsulation.html

with pictures to help you with the encapsulation process. our midwife is also letting us barrow her piller so dh has volunteered to encapsulate. i'm so excited. ds was a c/s so i didn't even get to see my placenta with him.

[BHappy]

other uses, in addition to help with ppd:

the dried, encapsulated placenta also can be frozen and used when you enter menopause, as well as for your daughter at menarche.

i can't really afford it either, but i'm thinking of taking donations at my baby blessing.

[Mommy2Austin]

A quick google search yielded a few at home capsule filler options (AIO kits $30-$50 USD) that had decent user ratings. It might make the job easier :)

[BarefootinBrooklyn]

I'm hoping to have a doula friend encapsulate mine, depending on what her rate will be...still have to talk out the details since she's an hours drive away. I'm also looking into having someone local do it, but if I can't work that out then maybe I'll just do the chopping & freezing idea for smoothies...that will probably yield the freshest health benefits anyway. I'm a vegetarian and very leery of tasting any meatiness, but from what I've heard it doesn't really have that...

thanks for all the great links! i didn't do anything with my daughter's placenta but something tells me i'll need a little more hormonal support to adjust to being a mama of two. :)

[Mommy2Austin]

Originally Posted by BarefootinBrooklyn 

I'm hoping to have a doula friend encapsulate mine, depending on what her rate will be...still have to talk out the details since she's an hours drive away. I'm also looking into having someone local do it, but if I can't work that out then maybe I'll just do the chopping & freezing idea for smoothies...that will probably yield the freshest health benefits anyway. I'm a vegetarian and very leery of tasting any meatiness, but from what I've heard it doesn't really have that...

thanks for all the great links! i didn't do anything with my daughter's placenta but something tells me i'll need a little more hormonal support to adjust to being a mama of two. :)

Definitely didn't have any meatiness in my smoothies. Just make sure you have a good blender to basically obliterate it ;)

[littleteapot]

I was definitely going to encapsulate this time. We were just going to do it ourselves... dry it in the oven and crush it down.

With my first my midwife cut off a big hunk of my placenta and put it in a smoothie with some fruit and tofu and I SWEAR to you I didn't taste a thing!! I was terrified I would, and end up throwing up, but I didn't even know it was there until she told me. I didn't even taste the blood and I'm generally very sensitive to that.

[Spinnerette]

Littleteapot, did you happen to know of a tutorial online for doing it yourself? If I have the presence of mind after birth to ask for the placenta, I'd really like to do this.

[swimming-duck]

I've considered placenta encapsulation this time around. I can relate to you staryla - I don't think I had PPD with my first, but I was not in the best place either. Granted, I had an overly medical induced birth and a horrible start to breastfeeding. So my early weeks with my little one had a lot of stress that didn't need to be there. I am nervous this time around though because my soon to be 4 year old is an intense little man. I'll also be returning to my job as a full-time home daycare provider six weeks after baby gets here. I think I may be very prone to exhaustion and emotional blah this time around - so I'd like to take a proactive approach.

I haven't checked into prices yet. I know there's people in my area who do the encapsulation. I was thinking it wasn't going to be that horribly expensive. I guess I'm in for a surprise from all the comments about it? I guess I should hurry up and check on it and see if I can actually afford it. If not I don't know - perhaps we'll try to do it ourselves?

[tracymom1]

I found a doula in my area (Chicago) that will do it for $150-$175 depending on how far away you are from her. I guess this is pretty standard, though I have seen some that are much, much more expensive (I am thinking they work for PBI because they take a big cut of every paycheck).

I am thinking that I might just do it myself... I was so intimidated by it last time around, but this time is seems like no big deal. I should have my SIL and MIL around for a day or two after the birth to help, and while I am pretty sure they won't want to look at the placenta, let alone touch it, they could keep the little ones out of DH's hair while he tends to it. If he can get it washed, steamed and cut up, I can dry it in the oven and grind and encapsulate it.

Spinnerette - there are a couple of links with pictures in the threads above.

[staryla]

Wow!  I am so glad I asked you ladies.  I'm pretty sure now that I am going to do it, and probably do it myself (even though we are big into DIY at my house somehow it never occurred to me in this situation.)

The lady who does placenta encapsulation in my area charges ~$200-$250. YIKES!  For that money we could get the fancy dehydrator we've been lusting after for years and have something useful (though the pills will be useful too of course) afterwards.

One of the links on how to do it yourself said that the person doing the encapsulation should be in a good head place.  Do you think that I would be up to doing it myself in the first days post-partum? (I think I can answer that question with a no), I wonder if DH would be up for it?  My DH is the cook/gardener/homemaker in our family and I think he'd be more than willing, I just don't know how much energy he's going to have either.

[Spinnerette]

Haha, derp.

I guess clicking the links would probably be helpful! >_< 

[imalego]

I had a couple(one directly after, one on day 3) placenta smoothies with my second birth and definitely felt that it helped.  Frozen strawberry, banana, yogurt, and a chunk of the placenta and blend away!  It was easy to drink and I only caught some mild metallic tastes when I hadn't finished it all in 15 minutes time.  

Also- no meaty-ness to mine at all, although I had a friend consume hers, made with a crappy blender and a tomato(think V8) base to it, and she did not like it one bit.  

[Mamatoabunch]

To tell you the truth, the pictures totally grossed me out. Dh said he is doing and not grossed out. He wants a happy wife, PP.

[sharita]

Is there any special instructions for just cleaning and chinking it for freezing in cubes for smoothies?  I am slightly grossed out by the huge bloodvessels in it, haha.  I could manage but are you supposed to cut those out?  All the instructions I find are for steaming or drying and thought it may require different seperation instructions as to what to keep and what to toss if you are consuming raw.

[littleteapot]

Here are two links with instructions for DIY!

http://tryingtobringadreamtolife.blogspot.com/2009/08/diy-placenta-encapsulation-steps-for-at.html

http://www.drmomma.org/2010/08/happy-pills-placenta-encapsulation.html