lotus birth or eating the placenta? - Page 3

[moonfirefaery]

If I took off a small peice of the placenta an hour or so after the birth to make an elixir, would that interfere with the whole process of lotus birth? Does anyone know? I've heard of soaking it in water and then keeping the water as an elixir. Could I do that while it was still attached to the baby, just keep it in water for a few hours? That seems reasonable to me but there may be factors I'm not considering.

[Synchro246]

Originally Posted by moonfirefaery

If I took off a small peice of the placenta an hour or so after the birth to make an elixir, would that interfere with the whole process of lotus birth? Does anyone know? I've heard of soaking it in water and then keeping the water as an elixir. Could I do that while it was still attached to the baby, just keep it in water for a few hours? That seems reasonable to me but there may be factors I'm not considering.

Interesting. Is putting it in water how you make the elixer? I've heard of soaking it in 100 proof vodka for a tincture.
I don't see why you couldn't do that while it's attached to the baby, but--like you said--there may be factors I'm not considering.

[Peacemamalove]

I am just wondering if freezing a placenta takes away its healing properties?

[weliveintheforest]

Originally Posted by zahirakids

I am just wondering if freezing a placenta takes away its healing properties?

I'm interested to know this as well, and about the different ways of preparing it for the most value.

[Synchro246]

I was under the impression that cooking it certainly denatures the beneficial hormones. I don't know about freezing. I was also under the impression that any tinctures need to be made within 24-48 hours of the birth to be effective because the hormones break down.

[TrishWSU]

Not pregnant, but...I plan to leave the placenta attached for some time after the birth, but not lotus. I want to dry it out and encapsulate to take as a supplement for as long as it lasts post partum. How would you go about drying it, though?

Of course my next pregnancy will be as a surrogate, so they will get to decide what to do with the placenta. If they don't plan to do anything with it, I will ask to keep it. Another question~IM is trying to induce lactation. Would the hormones in the placenta help her milk come in as well? I'm thinking if we dry and encapsulate it we can share the pills so we're both benefitting (I will be pumping too.)

[shell024]

I read somewhere that you could encapsulate the placenta after a lotus birth. I want to find more info on that because ideally that's what I would do. I'd also eat a little from the maternal side to stop bleeding after the birth.

Does anyone know of other info on encapsulating after a lotus birth?

[JesseMomme]

Since I'm four-for-four on PPD and anxiety issues and would never want to do meds again, if I had another baby I would definately be working on ingesting the placenta. A lotus birth sounds lovely, but I really need my mental health to be stable

I came close to eating a piece after my PPH - it was going to be step 3 in my master plan to stop the bleeding as soon as I got out of the bathroom, but the bleeding ceased right in the bathroom.

[dancebaraka]

There's a great article I found (not sure where) about placenta preparation and TCM- as a side note, it is perfectly ok to cook the placenta outside.. my DH will be tending the placenta outside the first days pp:

Google up
"Traditional Chinese Medicine Placenta Preparation
by Janneli Miller, Midwife"
to search for the article.

[lovesprout]

Originally Posted by shell024

I read somewhere that you could encapsulate the placenta after a lotus birth...Does anyone know of other info on encapsulating after a lotus birth?

I'm wondering if you've received anymore info regarding encapsulating the placenta after a lotus birth? I am curious, as well.

Peace,
Lovesprout

[akaisha]

i'm wondering about this too, it's what i'd want to do when i have a baby. and yes, i would cut off a piece of the maternal side if i was hemorraging. what a wonderful gift to get from your precious baby. respectfully taking a piece of my baby's placenta in order to stop us both having to transfer is worth it to me.

[lunasmommy]

Originally Posted by eminencejae

What is TCM?

I believe it stands for Traditional Chinese Medicine.

Correct me if I'm wrong, please.

[yvonnemlv]

Originally Posted by lovesprout

I'm wondering if you've received anymore info regarding encapsulating the placenta after a lotus birth? I am curious, as well.

Peace,
Lovesprout

http://placentabenefits.info/encapsulation.asp

Oh after a lotus birth.. huh... i've not found any info on that yet myself... only 10 more weeks of pregnancy brain, yay! heheh

[amberskyfire]

Those who do lotus birth argue very strongly for it, so I don't want to cause any fights here. I'm NOT against lotus birth. I think lotus birth is great for those who choose it and I'm 100% all for that This is just my personal belief.

As far as physiology goes, the placenta is intended to be eaten. All mammals eat their placenta and there are many reasons for it. The high levels of nutrients and certain hormones stop bleeding and prevent hemorrhage, help the mother to produce breast milk, and facilitate bonding. No animal does lotus birth (some will argue that chimpanzees do, but this is a false statement perpetuated in the community that was started by one specific author on lotus birth). That's just my take on the matter. I wanted to do what was natural and it didn't seem right to me to leave the placenta attached.

I did eat mine. I ate some raw right after the birth to stop bleeding and prevent hemorrhage. It tasted just like hard boiled eggs and wasn't gross.

The rest, I cooked up in a skillet. I washed all of the blood out in the sink, then seasoned it with steak seasoning and cooked it in a skillet with just a little olive oil to keep it from sticking.

It has sort of the consistency of ground hamburger meat. It tastes just exactly like steak, but because it has so many large blood vessels running through it, it's super chewy and feels like it has rubber bands in it. I couldn't eat the smooth side at all - it was too tough. I ended up just cutting off the rough side that was toward me and eating it.

It was delicious

[AnneCordelia]

Originally Posted by amberskyfire

Those who do lotus birth argue very strongly for it, so I don't want to cause any fights here. I'm NOT against lotus birth. I think lotus birth is great for those who choose it and I'm 100% all for that This is just my personal belief.

As far as physiology goes, the placenta is intended to be eaten. All mammals eat their placenta and there are many reasons for it. The high levels of nutrients and certain hormones stop bleeding and prevent hemorrhage, help the mother to produce breast milk, and facilitate bonding. No animal does lotus birth (some will argue that chimpanzees do, but this is a false statement perpetuated in the community that was started by one specific author on lotus birth). That's just my take on the matter. I wanted to do what was natural and it didn't seem right to me to leave the placenta attached.

Exactly what I was about to type. :

[accountclosed3]

i'm not sure that "all mammals" eat the placenta.

honestly, i've never seen certain mammals eat the placentas--particularly wild herbivorous herd mammals. typically, the cord and placenta fall out/off the baby in a few days or within hours. i think this would "qualify" as a lotus birth.

i may be wrong, though. i don't spend a lot of time studying on the habits of "all mammals" in regards to placentas.

i do believe it is beneficial to eat the placenta if one wants to, and that it is just a bit is needed to confer benefits (that is, you don't have to eat the whole thing). and, that it isn't necessary to eat the placenta either.

one can lotus birth, toss it, or eat it--whatever--regardless of what 'all other mammals" do.

[123]

I don't know about wild herbivorous herd mammals, but my FIL's cows eat their placentas.

I had some of mine in smoothies after my 3rd child's birth. It was the easiest recovery and the most emotionally collected postpartum experience I've had. I could be so in love with dd and yet not get overwhelmed by all the postpartum feelings in those first months. I will absolutely do it again if at all possible.

[accountclosed3]

admittedly, i don't spend a lot of time around herd animals of any kind (save humans, but we're also omnivorous by classification and hervivorous by choice).

i'm not sure, though, that being a mammal or being an omnivore, or that because other animals do it should be one's primary reason for doing it.

i mean, there are so many other reasons to do it, i don't see why it would be considered an important factor.

[BlessedOne]

I am not up for eating the placenta or doing the lotus birth thing. I find both too nasty for my liking. I have and will leave the cord attached for atleast 30 minutes (last time it was an hour or so)....but I would doubt that it would go past a few hours with me...and probably not even that long. I can not say that I like the act of cutting the cord (that grosses me out too) but I would rather just do it and not have to deal with the cord and placenta. Honestly the stub itself is almost too much for me to handle....I know the placenta would be WAY over board.
It is amazing that I can even do a homebirth....lol.

It is kind of like taking off a band-aid. Either you can just rip it off and be done with it quicker or you can let it just fall off naturally and deal with all the sticky goo and other annoyances....lol.

And before anyone jumps to conclusions....I am not talking about ripping off the umbcord or the stump. My point was that you can either just get things done quickly or you can prolong it and have to deal with the annoyances. I am for the quicker one. I will let my child get benefit from the excess blood and then we are done!


To each their own.........they are just not my things.

[BlessedOne]

Originally Posted by 123

I don't know about wild herbivorous herd mammals, but my FIL's cows eat their placentas.

I had some of mine in smoothies after my 3rd child's birth. It was the easiest recovery and the most emotionally collected postpartum experience I've had. I could be so in love with dd and yet not get overwhelmed by all the postpartum feelings in those first months. I will absolutely do it again if at all possible.

my childhood dog ate his vomit and some other animals eat their feces, spouses and children..........I do not think I am going to base my diet off of an animals idea of lunch. lol

I have always had great recoveries and no emotional issues.... all without having to eat part of my own body.

After my first, the nurses were astonished that I was up walking around the hospital after birth waiting for my child to be brought back to me from bath and ect.

After my second, I was a little bit slower to recover....but still up and at them within a couple of hours and shopping the next day. And the slowness was because of my strict vegetarian diet that did not give me enough calories to gain back the energy quicker.

With my third, I was up grilling for all of the guests as soon as we had all of the afterbirth stuff done.

so basically with all of my births, I was up and at them and felt like I could conquer the world within an hour or two of birth.
I never had bad hemorraging or any other issue like that. So I do not feel the need to go to extremes like eating the placenta.

I do not want people that do not know to think that they have to do something like eat the placenta to avoid issues that have been presented. I am just letting people know that is it possible to recover VERY quickly and without problems even if you don't eat the placenta.