What are all you mamas doing with your placentas? « Back to Group Discussions

[cortinacolorado]

For those who have already birthed and those still waiting...what are you doing with your placentas?

I really wanted to do encapsulation but, with everything else we have going on financially with this birth, I don't think it's going to fit into the budget. I'm strongly considering making a tincture at home, to serve as the little one's master remedy through infancy and into childhood--and maybe even for me postpartum, if the process isn't too long for that to be an option. Just digging around online for a bit I've found two "recipes" so far:

http://www.moonsong.com.au/placental.html#recipe

http://carolinaplacentalady.com/2013/01/placenta-tincture-recipe/

Has anyone done such a thing before? I'd love to hear about your experiences, other ideas, etc.

[buko]

Hi, CC!  I haven't had my baby, of course, but you might be interested in this discussion, including the response from my mom:

http://www.mothering.com/community/t/1372684/what-are-you-doing-with-your-placenta

Dr. Mom's response is in comment #56 (scroll down):

http://www.mothering.com/community/t/1372684/what-are-you-doing-with-your-placenta/40

[cortinacolorado]

Thanks, buko!

[Chloe'sMama]

I just cut mine into small bits and froze them. Using them for smoothies. Did it with dd2 as well. Think it helped!

[AnahataChakra]

I had my husband chop it up(its just like steak right) small and start it in the dehydrator the night of my dds birth then he grinded it up and at 3 days i felt well enough to encapsulate a portion of it the rest is waiting in a tupperware all ground up for me to encapsulate when i run out of my pills...I highly recommend capsules I feel so much more even on them.  Granted I have an encapsulator which makes the job so much more doable.
 

[lovebeingamomma]

encapsulation.  D-MER is so bad and it helps, so its worth every penny.
 

[etsdtm99]

Last time I borrowed a dehydrator and dehydrated then ground/encapsulated myself - this time we don't have a dehydrator so we sliced it up as if we were going to dehydrate it and then froze it and put it in a vacuum sealed bag.. I didn't end up taking all my capsules from last time and I haven't felt like I needed them yet this time so I'm just saving it for a rainy day (I do plan to dehydrate it when I get a dehydrator .. Sometime)

[HouseofPeace]

hehe- every time i think about saving it, but then it's just simpler to clean it up.  this was a tired placenta, calcified in places, and very very large.  i thought about freezing it and saving it for later to make a decision on, but after such a long exhausting birth, husband just wanted to clean up and i just wanted the baby, and the placenta got thanked and tossed!  

3 homebirths, and the placenta has never made it to my freezer.  my iron levels before and after birth are pretty high, and i do consume a TF diet which i assume has a lot of the same nutrients as a placenta as organ meats are part of my diet.

[loveandgarbage]

Currently it's in the fridge and I guess I should move it to the freezer. I really thought I'd consume it this time around, but the thought doesn't sound appealing at all! My friend can dry it and encapsulate it for me but that doesn't even sound appealing.

[josie423]

I had planned on freezing chunks for smoothies, but now don't have much of an interest. And while my family was fully on board with the homebirth and were totally active participants in that, I think they would be traumatized if they saw me consuming my placenta.  So, it is currently in the freezer awaiting warmer weather to bury it. I considered throwing it away, but the thought makes me sad, so burial it is. :)

[Gray's Mommy]

I am planning on encapsulating myself. I am going to do it a few days after birth. I found a few do it yourself versions on the internet & figure if I mess it up, well, how messed up could it be? I'm going to wash, steam, cut, dry and grind. I have a capsule holder to fill.

Everyone thinks it is gross to do this in my family, so I'm going to send them out while I do it.

[SmtmsAlwys]

I'll most likely just freeze this one and then once we get out of this apartment into a place of our own, I will probably plant it with a lovely tree.