herb question

[jerusha070707]

I've been having a hard time figuring out what I want on hand for birth. I just noticed that Placenta Out has Shepard's Purse, Blue Cohosh, and Dong Quai. So I can use it to help with the placenta but could I also use it to help with bleeding after the placenta is out? Basically should I also get shepard's purse for bleeding?

[moonfirefaery]

Shepherd's Purse will make your uterus clamp down on your placenta. My placenta wouldn't come out, and we later discovered that Shepherd's Purse can cause retained placenta. Please don't buy any product for getting your placenta out that contains it. DO buy it for bleeding though; take it AFTER the placenta comes. I also bought Motherwort for bleeding and there was some kind of other tincture everyone recommended... I will see if I can remember the name of it...some kind of tincture derived from floral plants.

Edited by moonfirefaery - 4/9/11 at 6:24pm

[ElizabethE]

I'm not really into herbs. But, I did swallow a piece of placenta. Gag. It worked.

[moonfirefaery]

I thought about encapsulating mine but didn't really know how. We thought about freezing it, planting it, etc. The hospital just disposed of mine so I was kind of like, well, one less thing for ME to deal with lol!

[ElizabethE]

When my homebirth with #2 "failed", they asked me if I still wanted to keep my placenta. Before I was sort of thinking about planting it. At that point, though, I felt so defeated that I didn't have any more interest in trying. I let them dispose of it.

This time I looked into encapsulating but it looked VERY involved, and expensive. I didn't think it seemed realistic for me or my husband to do after birth. We planted it under some flowers in the end. :)

[moonfirefaery]

Rescue Remedy!! That's what the floral tincture I bought was called. I heard it was good mainly for shock from some other mamas.

That's probably what we'd have done. I'm too lazy for encapsulating

[jerusha070707]

so is there something out there that would be good to have on hand in case of a retained placenta? I'm not as concerned with bleeding because I can eat the placenta if needed.

[moonfirefaery]

Probably the Dong Quai and Blue Cohosh, as they do stimulate contractions.

[Midwife Scottie]

Eating the placenta is great for bleeding.....I have not had the experience of Shephard's Purse causing a retained placenta. Dong Quai or Angelica are the standard herbs for a retained placenta. Getting into a squat to deliver a placenta is a great way to do it, especially if you are having an unassisted birth, because you dont have to worry if it is detached or not- it will either come or not. Also nursing your baby will help make the placenta come. Wish Garden goes make some great mixes that work well. There is also Hem Halt for bleeding.

[lovebeingamomma]

exactly what do you do to eat your placenta right after birth?  Just cut a piece off and swallow it?  You rinse the blood off first I hope??  Sounds so gross but I would do it if I had to.  What's the theory for why that stops bleeding?

oh and I'm paying $150 for a placenta encapsulation specialist to come to my house and do all the work for me.  I believe in all the benefits of consuming it so it's worth it to me.

[moonfirefaery]

I believe it's to do with the hormones contained in the placenta.

[dayiscoming2006]

I got "Placenta Out" - so that stuff is bad? That sucks. What a waste of money. Thanks for the warning though. 

Oh yeah, and if it is bad, why do they still sell it? And why would they even put the shepherd's purse in there then? That's confusing.

What about "wombstringe" ? I bought that for after the placenta is definitely out in case of hemorrhage. (figured this could also be relevant for OP)

[moonfirefaery]

I don't know if it's bad; I just know that Shepherd's Purse is said to cause retained placenta, so I'm confused why they'd put it in something designed to get the placenta out.

The wombstringe looks like a good set of ingredients for dealing with hemorrhage. I wonder what amounts of each herb are in it though. The last two, Shepherd's Purse & Motherwort, are the ones I've heard the most about. I've heard Bayberry helps with hemorrhage, but I hear the other two recommended more often. I know Witch Hazel is a great astringent to help prevent infection but I haven't heard that it helps with hemorrhage.

[tracymom1]

I have angelica for retained placenta and shepherd's purse for bleeding.  I bought the loose herbs and am making my own tinctures.   I also have cytotec just in case of a more involved bleed.  I will be encapsulating my placenta as well and I think we are going to go ahead and do it ourselves.  I was too overwhelmed last time to figure it all out, but I am much more calm about this birth and I am sure it will work out.

[broodymama]

I had both Shepherd's Purse and Wombstringe on hand in case of hemorrhage but didn't need them.  Twice I needed Angelica tincture for retained placenta, that was the only thing I needed (well, I did take some Afterease for the afterpains after #3 and #4.)

[dayiscoming2006]

Originally Posted by Red Sonja 

I had both Shepherd's Purse and Wombstringe on hand in case of hemorrhage but didn't need them.  Twice I needed Angelica tincture for retained placenta, that was the only thing I needed (well, I did take some Afterease for the afterpains after #3 and #4.)

On the "Afterease" stuff - how soon should I use it exactly in your experience? I have some of that too. 

[broodymama]

I started taking it a couple hours after the birth, maybe about 4 hours later.  That's just when I happened to be in my upstairs bathrrom where it was and remembered it.  I usually give birth in the early morning and I remember noticing my afterpains becoming uncomfortable by the afternoon.

[Multimomma]

exactly what do you do to eat your placenta right after birth?  Just cut a piece off and swallow it?  You rinse the blood off first I hope??  Sounds so gross but I would do it if I had to.  What's the theory for why that stops bleeding?

I am a very heavy bleeder, and I used shepherds purse and ate placenta after my last two UCs. I wish I would have thought to do it scientifically to see which helped more, but I think they both helped a lot. Dh usually takes it as soon as it's birthed, checks it to make sure it's complete, rinses it in warm water, and cuts off chunks about half an inch by half an inch. I could NOT chew it, I just swallowed it whole. I probably had about eight or nine pieces before it started to gag me, so I figure that was my body telling me I had enough LOL!

It's supposed to help from all the hormones still in there from the birth. I haven't done the incapsulation, i wanted to this last pregnancy, but we transferred and there were just too many problems, I didn't want to deal with one more.

[mamagrits]

Great thread, I've had a lot of questions about herbs, too.

Has anyone used tea instead of tinctures?  Like Shepherd's Purse tea?  I don't consume alcohol & I'm still on the fence about how I feel about tinctures for medicinal purposes...

[jerusha070707]

As far as eating a few pieces of placenta for bleeding, what part do you eat?