is it too late to eat my placenta?

[MellyMel]

hello. I had my son 17 days ago, and am definately feeling depressed. I left my placenta in a ziploc bag in my fridge for about 3 days and then threw it in the freezer. Think it is ok to eat still? and is it not too late to eat it? And ideas on this, and thoughts on how to eat it if its still ok? thanks

[Spring Sun]

First of all, I want to say that if anyone just "dropped in" on mdc and this is the thread they saw...oh boy!

That being said, I think it is okay. Just think of it as any sort of meat. Most meats would be fine if you put them in the fridge and then the freezer. Have you looked into getting it made into pills? This is what I did, and it is so wonderful bc I still have them. Depending on your area, it shouldn't be too difficult to find someone who does this.
Stacey

[MellyMel]

where would I go about looking for someone who could do this? What type of person or business would I contact? Thanks

[Pookietooth]

There are midwives and doulas who know this method, also a practitioner of Chinese medicine. I know of someone who just treated her placenta like liver, and cooked it up like liver and onions. Another friend of mine (stafl from MDC) ate hers raw! She said it tasted like, ahem, woman.

[baileyandmikey]

i never ate mine, but i have heard you can blend it and drink it. i am sure if you search the forums, you will find more. good luck with the depression, the placenta might help.

[beansricerevolt]

You can blend it and make a smoothie! Add some strawberrys and a little ice or OJ. yummy

[boston]

It's probably still "good" but....why would you do that?
It's not guaranteed to help. There are so many hormones in it that you don't know what effects to expect.

Maybe try 5htp or St. John's Wort first?
Hell, even Zoloft.
With Zoloft you won't experience placenta burps.

[runes]

I ended up doing exactly what you did. At 3 days pp I took the placenta which had been in the fridge and I cut up 14 small cube size pieces and froze them. I kept the rest of the placenta, too, and threw it in a ziploc baggie to freeze, just in case.

I made a smoothie with blueberries, raspberries, pomegranate juice and a scoop of vanilla iced blended mix (from Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf) and some ice. It was delicious and I didn't taste the placenta at all. Oh, and I'm a vegetarian, by the way.

HTH.

[Gale Force]

Originally Posted by boston

It's probably still "good" but....why would you do that?
It's not guaranteed to help. There are so many hormones in it that you don't know what effects to expect.

Spoken from someone whom I assume has never experienced severe depression.
edited to say: this was a bit harsh (left it because I posted it). I realize that even people who go through major depression do not know that depression often has nutritional deficiencies or toxicities as the underlying cause. If you don't know that, why in the heck would you eat your placenta? So I understand that.

Boston, I would eat your placenta if it helped reduce my chances. My own placenta is a no-brainer. I wouldn't be exposing myself to extra toxins -- it came out of me, I've been exposed already. And then there is all of that nutrition that just gets discarded when it could be reducing PPD. My cat used to eat all of the fetal sacks of her kittens and I never observed any PPD in her after all of her litters. How lucky for her.

Originally Posted by boston

Maybe try 5htp or St. John's Wort first?
Hell, even Zoloft.
With Zoloft you won't experience placenta burps.

And Zoloft might or might not be effective. And it is addictive. 5htp (tryptophan) is a good idea if you are low in tryptophan but if you are also low in B-6, your body won't be able to convert it to serotonin. And of course it's not like your placenta is just a big tryptophan pill. You could take the tryptophan and whatever else in pill form but you still missed everything else that was in the placenta.

I just don't see the big deal in consuming it, particularly swallowing little bits like pills. It is a good idea.

[boston]

Originally Posted by Gale Force

Spoken from someone whom I assume has never experienced severe depression. Boston, I would eat your placenta if it helped reduce my chances. My own placenta is a no-brainer. I wouldn't be exposing myself to extra toxins -- it came out of me, I've been exposed already. And then there is all of that nutrition that just gets discarded when it could be reducing PPD. My cat used to eat all of the fetal sacks of her kittens and I never observed any PPD in her after all of her litters. How lucky for her.

I have really got NO idea why you'd make such an assumption about me. That just seems totally random. Anyway, I'm not going there with you. But the reason why I'm very wary of thispractice is that my midwife advised me not to eat the placenta when I asked her about it. She explained that there's no way to be sure what you're actually getting, hormone level-wise. I did some research of my own and concluded there was no proven benefit, and no proven safety in it.

As far as the comparisson to your cat...well, first, there goes lunch. Second, how would you even know if your cat was depressed? Maybe your cat feels like a terrible mother and fantasizes about committing suicide all day. How would you know?? The fact is, humans do not (normally) eat their placentas. We also don't eat our offspring. We're not cats.

Originally Posted by Gale Force

And Zoloft might or might not be effective. And it is addictive. 5htp (tryptophan) is a good idea if you are low in tryptophan but if you are also low in B-6, your body won't be able to convert it to serotonin. And of course it's not like your placenta is just a big tryptophan pill. You could take the tryptophan and whatever else in pill form but you still missed everything else that was in the placenta.

I just don't see the big deal in consuming it, particularly swallowing little bits like pills. It is a good idea.

Right. Zoloft might not be effective. Consuming your placenta might not be effective either. And yes, 5HTP must be taken with B-6. So?

I dissagree that placentas are meant to be eaten by us. Sorry. There is no proven evidence linking placenta consumption to health benefits. If there is, show it to me. The big deal is that it's not been proven safe or effective. The grossness factor aside, it seems irrational.

[Gale Force]

Hey Boston. I revised the post above. Check it out.

Originally Posted by boston

Right. Zoloft might not be effective. Consuming your placenta might not be effective either. And yes, 5HTP must be taken with B-6. So?

Yes, but consuming your placenta is something you can do that is proactive. Zoloft is usually given after problems arise unless you have a history. I am a proactive person and don't want to wait until I need Zoloft. There is a long thread around here about this for anyone who wants to read more.

And on the 5HTP, you threw out that someone should try 5HTP instead of eating their placenta. I'm just saying that it won't work if you are low in B-6, and most of us are. Then again, if the placenta is loaded with B-6, perhaps eating it and then trying the 5htp is a better strategy.

Originally Posted by boston

I dissagree that placentas are meant to be eaten by us. Sorry. There is no proven evidence linking placenta consumption to health benefits. If there is, show it to me. The big deal is that it's not been proven safe or effective. The grossness factor aside, it seems irrational.

I guess I am just not going to wait for all of the evidence to come it. I don't see a lot of funding heading in the direction of this research question. Hormones don't concern me as much as the loss of nutrients do, but that's my own bias on this topic. The hormones are easier to test for and to correct.

You also have to understand that I eat liver regularly and don't like it at all. I ate the adrenal glands of a steer that were absolutely nasty, by the way. So I am far beyond nasty and disgusting here. It's down to whatever works. I didn't eat my placenta with my son -- didn't even think about it. But definitely would if I have another or if I could do it all over again.

[Wugmama]

I would totally recommend trying to consume it, just based on what my midwife has told me about the good results she has seen. She will prepare mine into capsules that I will swallow.

Did you have a midwife you could ask to do this? Otherwise, try to contact homebirth midwives in your area to ask for help with this.

Best wishes!



Tracy

[JenniferC]

I ate my placenta, I had my husband slice it very thinly after it was frozen to help with the slicing thinly. Then it went on a cookie sheet in the oven until it was well dehydrated (on LOW!). Then it was ground in a coffee grinder, and encapsulated in empty gelatin caps (available at good health food stores). Then I think I took 1 cap 3 x/day. My midwife said there was actually a woman who found that her placenta was so helpful for her depression that she was asking other women for their placentas (now that I wouldn't be comfy doing, but she was desperate for a natural alternative). Unfortunately the medical authorities put a stop to that.

Anyways, I hope this helps! Eating placenta is natural, particularly when it's your own, most mammals do, and there's good reason. I never suffered from PPD in any case .

[Danae]

There is at least one recipe on mothering.com for your placenta. I'm pretty sure it is for pizza that actually sounds quite yummy! If I had known about the possibility when I had my daughter I would have tried it before Lexapro. That being said though I do think medication has its place and time.

[Anguschick1]

I agree w/Gale Force on numerous accounts. Since no one makes anu money off of placentas, I don't see any major - or heck any - funding being designated towards the study of consuming your placenta, so the fact that there is no study means nothing to me. I'd heard that it worked and would have done anything to avoid feeling like I did after ds1's birth ever again.

An hour or two after ds2 was born I ate two large chunks (well swallowed them whole like a raw oyster) w/some room temperature water. Then I made a placenta tincture and the placenta itself is in my freezer. I would think you could treat it like any frozen meat, defrost slightly so that you can cut easily & dehydrate - that's a wonderful idea.

And I know the plural of anecdote isn't data, but I never had the hormone crash after this birth. I sort of gradually "came down" and evened out. Sooo much better.

[massaginmommy]

I think for me it would be a well being thing. The nutritional aspect makes total sense to me. I would definitely try it if I have another baby. I think I would prefer the dried and ground in capsules to actually eating it but whatever works. I also read somewhere that a small piece of the placenta under the tongue helpos stop excessive bleeding after birth. Wish I had known that with DS#1 since I hemmoraged pretty badly.