Vegetarian eating Placenta

[travelmumma]

Hi There!

I am 20 weeks pregnant at the moment, and I am planning to eating my placeanta once bub arrives (for the health benefits)..

I have been a Vegetarian for almost 10 years now, and just wondering how my body/mind is going to handle this as it hasnt had a "meat product" in such a long time.

I was thinking of cutting it up into pill sized bits and freezing them to blend into freezer or just swallow... Do you think this would be the easiest way to do it?

Any ideas? Advice? Suggestions? BTDT?

TIA :)

[clovergirl]

I cut mine into like 1.5-2" chunks and froze them, then used a few each day in a fruit smoothie.  Usually orange juice, berries, and banana.  Honestly, it doesn't taste "meaty" at all in that form.  There's just a very slight metallic after taste. 
 

[Vegan Princess]

I had mine encapsulated last time. They sometimes made me gag, purely from the mental aspect of it. I definitely don't think I could have managed eating my placenta. Just a mental thing I don't think I could get past.

I read a blog about a raw vegan mama's pregnancy. A few hours after her birth she blended a chunk into a smoothie. She said later that once the sort of "high" of the birth wore off, she just couldn't manage to eat it anymore. But her body really wanted it/was open to it right after the birth. 

Cindy

[marsupial-mom]

How does your body react when you've accidentally eaten meat in the past? You know, when the food server says a dish is vegetarian and so you order it, it comes and you take a bite and realize its not vegetarian. Do you have a physical reaction or just a mental one? If you've gotten sick from situations like that then eating your placenta will probably trigger the same bodily reaction. But there's no ethical problem with eating your placenta (whereas eating animals is unethical) so if your reaction is more just emotional then you will probably be fine.
Edited by marsupial-mom - 8/15/12 at 2:27am

[SundayCrepes]

I couldn't make myself eat mine despite having said I would for years. I know someone who assisted with home births. She said they would cut them into chunks, saute, and serve in an omelet or throw in the blender with other ingredients for various drinks.

[OtherSoul]

I LOVED mine!  Like seriously loved it!  I ate the entire thing raw!  Cut up into pieces on a plate by my midwife.  It didn't bother me in the SLIGHTEST, it was as if my primal instinct took over and it felt right to eat it, despite it being a little bloody!  I know that sounds gross to a lot of people and I was worried I wouldn't be able to handle it but it tasted GREAT to me after my grueling homebirth.  I am definitely doing that for future births.  I recovered quickly after the birth and had NO post partum depression. 

[LightForest]

I wouldn't say that i LOVED eating mine, but it wasn't a problem despite being veg for over 10 years myself. My doula cut it into pill sized bits for me, wrapped them individually in foil, and froze them. I had about 2 weeks worth. When swallowed raw/frozen, it tasted sort of bloody, very salty, and a bit metallic. But since the blobs were small and slippery they were easy to swallow quickly like a pill. I personally couldn't handle blending a larger chunk into a smoothie.

I'm pregnant again and plan to do the same this time around.

[ZoeStarshine]

I encapsulated most of mine the nigjt she was born after we got home from.the birth center, but it was a bit of a task, so I ended up eating the part I didn't encapsulate the day after with some barbecue sauce. I am vegan and admittedly, in that form, it reminded me of what steak was like, but I liked it. I felt so close to DD eating it...but I admit I may sound like a wierdo saying it and YMMV.

[Sharlla]

i cut mine up into 16 chunks, froze then bagged.  i used 1 chunk a day with strawberry whey protein everyday until it was gone.

[Zirconia]

Other posters have mentioned encapsulation - have you looked into that?  It involves steaming the placenta with Chinese herbs, then dehydrating it, grinding to a powder, and filling gel capsules.  I had mine encapsulated by a local doula - she came after the birth and picked up the placenta (snuck it out of the hospital under her coat!), and two days later she came back with a jar of capsules and some gorgeous artistic placenta prints. The capsules have no flavor - I just took them with my vitamins.

[Veggmama]

I've been a vegetarian for about 20 years, and eating my encapsulated placenta felt completely natural and right.  No animals were injured!  The pills were a little metallic in taste and smelled much like my labor room, but I feel that they were a significant help in rebalancing my hormones.  To me, the ethics of placenta eating were as straight forward as breastfeeding might be to a vegan mom.  It's not completely veg, but it causes no injury, avoids a lot of waste, and is completely healthy.