Eating your Placenta to prevent PPD... - Page 18

[Limabean1975]

Thanks for sharing that Cohen's Mom!


My only hesitation about cutting up and eating my placenta is the vision of putting a sharp knife through it seems all wrong. I'll have to get over that.

[elizaMM]

my placenta eating experience LOOOONG

While I don't believe I have had Post Partum Depression, very possibly because I have been on antidepressants since long before even getting pregnant, I have had another brain problem. Concentration-- this is a problem I have had in the past (it is probably anxiety-related) it was very nicely eliminated with the addition of Wellbutrin to my medicinal regimen. I didn't feel sure I was having concentration issues until around 5 or 6 months post-partum. Problems in my head can be hard to detect-- sort of like the fish not being able to see the water.

I pulled it out of the freezer cut a tiny chunk off, maybe 3/4inch long by 1/4 inch wide at its widest. I poured soy sauce on it (sushi, right?), then flipped it over to get soy sauce on the other side, and popped it in my mouth. I even chewed it a few times. It tasted like soy sauce, kinda chewy. But that wasn't going to work for the whole frozen blob.

So I did some research, then set down to business. I steamed it in a pot on a Coleman stove on the back patio because I was concerned about the potential smelliness. It did smell nasty. It reminded me of a cooked meat smell I've smelled before. DH said the smell reminded him of liver. You know that grey, gelatinous gunk that collects on the top of a meatloaf or around the bottom of a roast in the pan? That stuff was all over the inside of the pot and on the lid and on the steamer. The smell combined with that visual really had me gagging and I even wretched a few times. I'm not even the gaggy or squeamish type. So, more or less 15 minutes on each side.

After it cooled a little I sliced it open to be sure it was done. It looked really spongy, greyish brown all the way through. (Breathing through my mouth, at the time. Is it possible for one's salivary glands to hurt?) I let it cool some more and then hacked it up into nice, thin, jerky-like strips. Didn't need to hold my breath so much any more. Thank goodness. Pretty rubbery. The whole thing sort of curled towards the cord. It kinda looked like a Portabella mushroom with a skinny stem (the cord). Maybe that's b/c of the spike in the middle of the steamer? I let our dog lick the cutting board. Arranged the whole thing in our food dehydrator-- it only took up two trays, but I had to use all the trays (6?) so that the heat/fan element had enough room. I fired it up in the house, just to see if it would smell. It smelled a little, DH couldn't smell it, but he suggested I put it in the garage anyway. I decided he had probably just gotten slowly desensitized to it as the smell got stronger. So I put it in the garage.

It didn't take long for the edges to turn black, not more than 2 hours, for sure. Hopefully that's not burnt. The middle parts were still spongy (quite like a synthetic sponge, actually), they didn't snap apart like the instructions said they should. Even one piece that was all black didn't snap apart. It was more like dried out rubber-- still a little supple. But a half hour later I tried some super thin pieces and they snapped well. I took the dry chunks off every half hour or so. Within a few hours all the chunks were done.

I put it all in my cuisinart with the steel blade and let 'er rip. It was really loud. And the powdered stuff came flying out the crack between the lid and the main bowl of the cuisinart. And it was super slow-going. After a while I switched to the blender. Still loud, still dusty, still slow. Then I realized it didn't really all have to be powder, it just needed to be small enough to fit in a capsule. So I stopped. It was basically a dull, greyish brown.

The next day I called around to pharmacies in town to ask about empty capsules. Of the three I called, only one had them. This was at a Wal-Mart-type chain store with a pharmacy. First they said they didn't have them, then I said "do you know where I could get some?" and then a pharmacist was put on the line and said they did have some, but only in the largest size. I said I'd come take a look. She said I would need to tell her what I was using them for or she wouldn't sell them to me because she didn't want me using them for anything illegal. I said I'd be happy to once I was there. I was at work and didn't feel like stirring up trouble, not when there isn't even good evidence for it working.

The box of capsules looked like it hadn't been re-designed since the 70's. $4.99 for the box of 100. It didn't have a real SKU. The store didn't usually sell these things to the public. They must have just used them for making stuff in-house. When I told the pharmacist it was for dehydrated placenta she didn't react at all, just moved on to the next thing.

I scooped the stuff up into the capsules using a pair of tweezers to hold the capsule. Then I would pop the other side on. I only made about 20. I decided I would make the rest if I needed to later. At first I took them with a meal because I was afraid of one gal's complaint of nasty burps. But I never had any even when I take it on an empty stomach.

I didn't notice any definite effect. My concentration is better, but not dramatically enough for me to even begin to consider attributing it to the pills. I'll keep taking it though. And get back to you if I feel like I can conclude anything meaningful.

The steamer had a lot of dried brown stuff on it. After three trips through the dishwasher I got brilliant and soaked it in hot water and dishwasher detergent highly rated by Consumer Reports for its enzymatic cleaning ability. (It has enzymes. I don't know how to know that w/o checking w/Consumer Reports.) Then it scrubbed clean pretty easily with a green scrubber.

I put the powder in the freezer. Cold slows everything down; decomposition, bacteria growth (in case there was still a little moisture left). Hopefully I'll remember what kind of container I put it in when I need to find it...

[blind_otter]

My son is almost 5 months old now, and my placenta pills ran out 2 months ago, but I just found this thread as my sister has a friend who is looking to do this.

My DP actually did this for me. We have a couple friend where the wife is an acupuncturist who makes her own chinese medicine and during my baby blessing when I was 7 months pregnant, she offered to do this - I never considered eating it raw. I just could not handle that. She was also pregnant at the time and when I delivered in July she didn't have the stomach for preparing it, so her husband helped my DP with the process.

I delivered at a birth center (DP's mother was my midwife) and they bagged up our placenta in a bio hazard bag. We took it home and freezed it immediately.

About 1 month after my delivery, DP went to his friend's house, placenta in hand. They removed the membrane and cord and boiled the whole thing in a pot that is now dedicated to this process, with some ginger root. This was a full boil, for 20 min or so. Then, they removed the placenta and allowed it to cool. After that, they cut the whole thing into approx. 2" segments, and baked at a low heat - I think 180 degrees - for 6 hours or so.

They just used one of those hand held chopper/mixers to grind the placenta up into a rough powder. They already had this device on hand, I don't know what it's called but pharmacists use it, where you can divide powder and it has a tiny spout to pour the powder coming off of a tube. We bought our gelatin capsules at a health food store, locally.

It took about 10 hours but he came home triumphantly with a bag of placenta pills.

I took 2 capsules with each meal. I must mention that I have a history of terrible depression, I had intesive CBT with medication treatment for about a year prior to getting pregnant. My condition was very bad, to the point that my psychiatrist wanted me to continue taking my antidepressant while pregnant - I refused. But, I was extremely concerned about PPD because I know that statistically, women with pre existing depression issues have a much higher rate of PPD. I didn't have difficulty at all, though.

I am extremely grateful that I did not have to prepare my own placenta. Although I am perfectly capable of doing it now, I have no idea how mothers who recently delivered can do this on their own.

[Limabean1975]

While this thread is active again, I have a meaty question (). Has anyone ever tried cutting up a placenta with a food processor? I just got my first food processor, and had a lightbulb moment that it might make things quicker and easier for DH.

[FarmerCathy]

Originally Posted by elizaMM

While I don't believe I have had Post Partum Depression, very possibly because I have been on antidepressants since long before even getting pregnant, I have had another brain problem. Concentration-- this is a problem I have had in the past (it is probably anxiety-related) it was very nicely eliminated with the addition of Wellbutrin to my medicinal regimen. I didn't feel sure I was having concentration issues until around 5 or 6 months post-partum. Problems in my head can be hard to detect-- sort of like the fish not being able to see the water.

I pulled it out of the freezer cut a tiny chunk off, maybe 3/4inch long by 1/4 inch wide at its widest. I poured soy sauce on it (sushi, right?), then flipped it over to get soy sauce on the other side, and popped it in my mouth. I even chewed it a few times. It tasted like soy sauce, kinda chewy. But that wasn't going to work for the whole frozen blob.

So I did some research, then set down to business. I steamed it in a pot on a Coleman stove on the back patio because I was concerned about the potential smelliness. It did smell nasty. It reminded me of a cooked meat smell I've smelled before. DH said the smell reminded him of liver. You know that grey, gelatinous gunk that collects on the top of a meatloaf or around the bottom of a roast in the pan? That stuff was all over the inside of the pot and on the lid and on the steamer. The smell combined with that visual really had me gagging and I even wretched a few times. I'm not even the gaggy or squeamish type. So, more or less 15 minutes on each side.

After it cooled a little I sliced it open to be sure it was done. It looked really spongy, greyish brown all the way through. (Breathing through my mouth, at the time. Is it possible for one's salivary glands to hurt?) I let it cool some more and then hacked it up into nice, thin, jerky-like strips. Didn't need to hold my breath so much any more. Thank goodness. Pretty rubbery. The whole thing sort of curled towards the cord. It kinda looked like a Portabella mushroom with a skinny stem (the cord). Maybe that's b/c of the spike in the middle of the steamer? I let our dog lick the cutting board. Arranged the whole thing in our food dehydrator-- it only took up two trays, but I had to use all the trays (6?) so that the heat/fan element had enough room. I fired it up in the house, just to see if it would smell. It smelled a little, DH couldn't smell it, but he suggested I put it in the garage anyway. I decided he had probably just gotten slowly desensitized to it as the smell got stronger. So I put it in the garage.

It didn't take long for the edges to turn black, not more than 2 hours, for sure. Hopefully that's not burnt. The middle parts were still spongy (quite like a synthetic sponge, actually), they didn't snap apart like the instructions said they should. Even one piece that was all black didn't snap apart. It was more like dried out rubber-- still a little supple. But a half hour later I tried some super thin pieces and they snapped well. I took the dry chunks off every half hour or so. Within a few hours all the chunks were done.

I put it all in my cuisinart with the steel blade and let 'er rip. It was really loud. And the powdered stuff came flying out the crack between the lid and the main bowl of the cuisinart. And it was super slow-going. After a while I switched to the blender. Still loud, still dusty, still slow. Then I realized it didn't really all have to be powder, it just needed to be small enough to fit in a capsule. So I stopped. It was basically a dull, greyish brown.

The next day I called around to pharmacies in town to ask about empty capsules. Of the three I called, only one had them. This was at a Wal-Mart-type chain store with a pharmacy. First they said they didn't have them, then I said "do you know where I could get some?" and then a pharmacist was put on the line and said they did have some, but only in the largest size. I said I'd come take a look. She said I would need to tell her what I was using them for or she wouldn't sell them to me because she didn't want me using them for anything illegal. I said I'd be happy to once I was there. I was at work and didn't feel like stirring up trouble, not when there isn't even good evidence for it working.

The box of capsules looked like it hadn't been re-designed since the 70's. $4.99 for the box of 100. It didn't have a real SKU. The store didn't usually sell these things to the public. They must have just used them for making stuff in-house. When I told the pharmacist it was for dehydrated placenta she didn't react at all, just moved on to the next thing.

I scooped the stuff up into the capsules using a pair of tweezers to hold the capsule. Then I would pop the other side on. I only made about 20. I decided I would make the rest if I needed to later. At first I took them with a meal because I was afraid of one gal's complaint of nasty burps. But I never had any even when I take it on an empty stomach.

I didn't notice any definite effect. My concentration is better, but not dramatically enough for me to even begin to consider attributing it to the pills. I'll keep taking it though. And get back to you if I feel like I can conclude anything meaningful.

The steamer had a lot of dried brown stuff on it. After three trips through the dishwasher I got brilliant and soaked it in hot water and dishwasher detergent highly rated by Consumer Reports for its enzymatic cleaning ability. (It has enzymes. I don't know how to know that w/o checking w/Consumer Reports.) Then it scrubbed clean pretty easily with a green scrubber.

I put the powder in the freezer. Cold slows everything down; decomposition, bacteria growth (in case there was still a little moisture left). Hopefully I'll remember what kind of container I put it in when I need to find it...

I know this is kinda OT, but for anyone with depression before, after, during pregnancy should make sure all thier amino acids are in check. I know being low in these can cause depression or make it worse esp. Vit. D. Check out the book Mood Cure book. You can find these aminos in any store that carries supplements. I had severe depression (felt like I had a cloud over my head and everything) and went to a naturapath and he prescribed all the aminos I needed and the book. I feel so much better now. You don't have to go to a doctor though if you get the book and figure out what you need. Hope this helps somebody.

[amydidit]

Just wanted to pop on here since I'm thinking about drying my placenta and encapsulating it after DD3's birth. I haven't even come close to reading all the pages yet.

[peainthepod]

Yes!

Originally Posted by Limabean1975

While this thread is active again, I have a meaty question (). Has anyone ever tried cutting up a placenta with a food processor? I just got my first food processor, and had a lightbulb moment that it might make things quicker and easier for DH.

Hi there. My doula prepared the placenta for drying by draining it, steaming it, and then cutting it into very thin strips. We put those on a cookie sheet and baked them on our oven's lowest setting for about 11 hours. Then DH ground the strips in our little food processor and encapsulated the powder.

Warning: DH gagged several times as he inhaled placenta powder during the grinding process. Be forewarned that men seem to hate the odor. To me it just smelled like rust.

The placenta pills were magical. I just ran out yesterday and am pretty sad about it. They worked wonders for my postpartum mood swings and crying jags. Good luck!

[theboysmama]

I just had baby #4 on 12/20. My midwife cut the placenta into chunks for me and made me a fruit smoothy immediately after birth. We just put a handful of berry's in a blender w/ 2 chunks of placenta (about the size of a thumb tip) and added rice milk and blended it all up. It was really good. I couldn't taste the placenta at all and I got immediate bennefits. (My last birth I encapsulated it) My midwife said that on day 6 my uterus was sooo teeny. She said it must be from the placenta. We kept it fresh in the fridge until day 3 and then put it in the freezer. I just have 3 more smoothies left and am kind of bummed about it.

[wvmommy]

just to share my own experience, i had my baby thursday (UBAC) and am eating the placenta. it's in little bite sized pieces and i just swallow a couple a day, raw and whole. like eating oysters. i left enough out for 3 days and froze the rest on parchment paper. i take a few down each day and put them in the fridge in a baggie to swallow when thawed.

erika

[thefragile7393]

It really helped me..drying it out and taking it in capsules, but PPD still hit me 3 mo post-partum, long after I had finished them.

[GraceBlue]

I think thats so neat you can eat your placenta to prevent PPD. I had thought about doing that when DD2 was born. Unfortunately, I had a long labor and we were exhausted when we came home from the birth center we forgot the placenta in the car overnight.

[Snuzzmom]

I started this thread sort of squicked out, but now I'm really interested in the capsules, as I had both PPD and low milk supply with DS.

However, there is no way I could bring myself to do this. It is just too much for me.

I am in San Francisco... do any of you know anyone I could get in touch with about doing this for me for #2, who is due in July 30? I am going the hospital route and not the midwife route so I really don't know anyone in that community. Any leads would be greatly appreciated.

[amydidit]

Okay. I still haven't read through this ENTIRE thread. My attention span just doesn't allow for that. But I have a question. I've seen it said here, and on a link too, to grind the placenta in a coffee grinder. Well, what if you don't have, nor have a way to get, a coffee grinder? We have no grinding devices at all. But I desperately want to encapsulate the placenta since I'm at high risk for severe PPD.

[Limabean1975]

Amydidit, I guess you could theoretically do it with a mortar & pestle, but that's going to be alot of work! Can you look on craigslist/freecycle/etc? I gave away an old coffee grinder on freecycle once, because really, a 10-year-old cheapo coffee grinder is not going to sell for any more than $1!

[amydidit]

I've been keeping an eye out on our Freecycle and Craigslist, but to be honest, they SUCK in this town. Seriously. So I can't hold my breathe on it.

[Limabean1975]

That's too bad. If nothing turns up, what about just freezing it in pill-sized or smoothie-chunk sized pieces? That's what I want to do anyway, figuring that the less processing, the less nutrients destroyed.

[JJ'sMom]

A previous post said that you could put the dried placenta in a bag and beat it into powder. I'm gonna try that with a rolling pin - just crushing the strips then pouring the powder into a jar to consume in smothies after. I do not have a grinder and would not want a secondhand grinder that was used for coffee or drugs either.

[wvmommy]

just a suggestion because it's so much easier: it's not hard just to swallow whole little pieces without chewing, just drop them down the back of your throat. the raw placenta is not gross looking. it looks like fresh beef. it's not gross tasting and just tastes like fresh beef. personally, i think the properties remain more intact without all the processing and it really isn't hard to get down at all. i drop two pieces down my throat each day and find it very easy to swallow. it sure does save a lot of work.

mommy to arthur, erik
AND baby juicy!!! born 2-5-09
erika

[claddaghmom]

Originally Posted by theboysmama

I just had baby #4 on 12/20. My midwife cut the placenta into chunks for me and made me a fruit smoothy immediately after birth. We just put a handful of berry's in a blender w/ 2 chunks of placenta (about the size of a thumb tip) and added rice milk and blended it all up. It was really good. I couldn't taste the placenta at all and I got immediate bennefits. (My last birth I encapsulated it) My midwife said that on day 6 my uterus was sooo teeny. She said it must be from the placenta. We kept it fresh in the fridge until day 3 and then put it in the freezer. I just have 3 more smoothies left and am kind of bummed about it.

Yeah! DH did this for me and I felt the results. Lol he treated me like a guinea pig and put the placenta in w/o telling me. So I know it wasn't a placebo affect.

I've still got the rest of it frozen. On the one hand, I don't know if it's fresh enough to continue making smoothies (it's in a regular freezer in a bowl) but on the other hand, I really don't like the idea of cooking and/or drying it. That seems counterintuitive.

[thepoet]

keeping this at the top!

Looking forward to eating mine once baby3 gets here.