So, there's discussion on this elsewhere on the board, but I thought if any of you are considering it, you might want to hear my report since everyone's due date is getting really close. I had my baby on Monday (today is Thurs) (he was due Feb 8, but came a little early). I had a placenta smoothie (DH made it with strawberries, coconut, banana, and ice; he didn't realize I had yogurt to put in it, too) right after the birth with about a 1 inch square piece. It didn't taste like anything other than a smoothie. It didn't look like anything other than a smoothie, either, since the strawberries camouflage the placenta.
Tuesday, I had another one with a piece about twice the size of the first one. It still just tasted like a smoothie. Wednesday, I had a frostie from Wendy's (okay, so not the most nutritious, but we were practically out of food in the house!) with the bigger piece blended in. Although it just tasted like a frostie, I'm not sure I'd recommend that because when I opened up the lid to see how much I had left, I could see little red flecks, and well, I knew it wasn't strawberry, and it was a tiny bit gross (but my stomach's strong, so not too much of a problem for me).
So, although all births are different and there were definitely factors with my last birth that might make recovery tougher (I had cervical scar tissue that was broken up during the birth), this recovery is WAY easier. It's 3 days after I delivered and my bleeding has almost stopped. I have a lot of energy, and my soreness in my perineum and anus are almost totally gone. My milk took about the same amount of time to come in, but I definitely had more colostrum than I did last time before the milk fully came in.
As far as afterpains, however, this birth was worse for those. I'm not sure if my uterus is shrinking faster than last time or not, I really can't remember how fast it shrank last time. I'd say my tummy is about 1/4 of what it was at the end of the pregnancy right now, so it is shrinking fairly fast, but I don't really think that much faster than normal.
So, if you're thinking about trying it, I do think there have been benefits. I guess I just figured "why not?". I don't find it particularly gross, so if there are possible benefits, why not try it.
Tuesday, I had another one with a piece about twice the size of the first one. It still just tasted like a smoothie. Wednesday, I had a frostie from Wendy's (okay, so not the most nutritious, but we were practically out of food in the house!) with the bigger piece blended in. Although it just tasted like a frostie, I'm not sure I'd recommend that because when I opened up the lid to see how much I had left, I could see little red flecks, and well, I knew it wasn't strawberry, and it was a tiny bit gross (but my stomach's strong, so not too much of a problem for me).
So, although all births are different and there were definitely factors with my last birth that might make recovery tougher (I had cervical scar tissue that was broken up during the birth), this recovery is WAY easier. It's 3 days after I delivered and my bleeding has almost stopped. I have a lot of energy, and my soreness in my perineum and anus are almost totally gone. My milk took about the same amount of time to come in, but I definitely had more colostrum than I did last time before the milk fully came in.
As far as afterpains, however, this birth was worse for those. I'm not sure if my uterus is shrinking faster than last time or not, I really can't remember how fast it shrank last time. I'd say my tummy is about 1/4 of what it was at the end of the pregnancy right now, so it is shrinking fairly fast, but I don't really think that much faster than normal.
So, if you're thinking about trying it, I do think there have been benefits. I guess I just figured "why not?". I don't find it particularly gross, so if there are possible benefits, why not try it.
...So I'm going to ask the MW to cut some pieces and see if she will make one for me.. then I'll make them..maybe.
