Eating the Placenta? Yuck! Ack! Gross! - Page 6

[Arwyn]

No, you don't have to cook the placenta first. If you can, get your hands on a dehydrator, cut it up raw (thinnish strips, although DP reports that's kinda hard), dehydrate, grind (I highly recommend a blade coffee grinder bought for the purpose), then encapsulate (you can buy little encapsulating "machines" that really help that go faster, although they're basically just a couple simple pieces of plastic, but worth it in my opinion).

If you CAN'T get a dehydrator (and I really wish we could have), set your oven to the VERY lowest temp it'll go, lay the strips on a cookie sheet, then cook all day with the door slightly open. The smell is kinda weird, but not unappealing. I think mine took about 6 hours?

Then grind and encap as above.

[Limabean1975]

I would be really interested to know what, if any, difference there is in effectiveness between raw, fresh, frozen and dehyrated. I have access to a dehyrator and would prefer to ingest it that way, but if it significantly more effective fresh and/or frozen, I'll take that plunge!

[Smokering]

Hmm. What's the benefit of adding the lemongrass, ginger and pepper to the steaming water, do you know? I'm sure it'd be great for flavour, but if you're capsulising the thing it's not like you'll taste it! Do these ingredients have some medicinal value, or what?

DH is going to capsulise mine, but I'm actually edging to the point of being brave enough to maybe try *one* smoothie. Which is a huge mental step for me! We shall see...

[riverundine]

i'm presently eating my encapsulated placenta.

dh is a chef and actually enjoyed doing it. he steamed it with some black pepper, fresh ginger, and some other digestive stimulants. the herbs that you steam the placenta with function as noted above, as digestive stimulants. they help the action of the placenta go into the deeper tissue layers of the body, help your body to better absorb the placenta. if you aren't steaming and going raw its a good idea to add these herbs to whatever preparation you choose.

the cooking method as opposed to raw has mainly an energetic difference - which can be very important. cooking "warms" the preparation, which i find adds an important quality especially in the winter months. generally, the body has more "vata" energy, or air and ether, after birth, that can potentially lead to anxiety, overwhelm, fear, etc. the warmer qualities from cooking will benefit these symptoms more. depression, which is generally of earth and water qualities, is inherently cool - so the warmth of steaming and drying slooowly in the oven helps with that as well. the only way i'd have eaten mine raw is if anger was a big issue, as the cooler qualities within raw foods may be helpful in cooling the anger and excess heat.

i'd take a fresh chunk right after the birth, though, to prevent postpartum hemmorhage. super effective.

charging $250 seems outrageous to me, but i'm sure it's worth it to some. it's really not that hard or time-consuming to do yourself. i've seen midwives and doulas who do it for $50-$75. it's over an hour of work, so i might pay upwards of $125, but once again, it's really not difficult to just do it yourself. also, i find tht imparting your own energy, or you dp's energy, into the cooking and capping process - energizing the formulation with all of your own love and intention - is a very important ingredient!

[dannic]

Originally Posted by Arwyn

No, you don't have to cook the placenta first. If you can, get your hands on a dehydrator, cut it up raw (thinnish strips, although DP reports that's kinda hard), dehydrate, grind (I highly recommend a blade coffee grinder bought for the purpose), then encapsulate (you can buy little encapsulating "machines" that really help that go faster, although they're basically just a couple simple pieces of plastic, but worth it in my opinion).

If you CAN'T get a dehydrator (and I really wish we could have), set your oven to the VERY lowest temp it'll go, lay the strips on a cookie sheet, then cook all day with the door slightly open. The smell is kinda weird, but not unappealing. I think mine took about 6 hours?

Then grind and encap as above.

Thanks! My mom actually has an excaliber dehydrater, so I'll use that. I need to do it asap. Somehow, tho, I seem to forget as the day goes on. *Note to self: Defrost placenta. LOL

[pdxmomazon]

Originally Posted by riverundine

charging $250 seems outrageous to me, but i'm sure it's worth it to some. it's really not that hard or time-consuming to do yourself. i've seen midwives and doulas who do it for $50-$75. it's over an hour of work, so i might pay upwards of $125, but once again, it's really not difficult to just do it yourself.

I don't mind paying the $250, though I realize it would make it prohibitively expensive for some. I'm glad we can support a woman in her business, and honestly I just can't imagine doing it myself at this point. I bet once I see it being done I'll change my tune, but the blood, the organ itself...I need to know it'll get done and not have to worry about doing it myself...

[BunnySlippers]

Originally Posted by riverundine

charging $250 seems outrageous to me, but i'm sure it's worth it to some. it's really not that hard or time-consuming to do yourself. i've seen midwives and doulas who do it for $50-$75. it's over an hour of work, so i might pay upwards of $125, but once again, it's really not difficult to just do it yourself. also, i find tht imparting your own energy, or you dp's energy, into the cooking and capping process - energizing the formulation with all of your own love and intention - is a very important ingredient!

I so agree.

Steaming is a good idea.
I am trying to visualise under what prep methods could I eat placenta. I could not put it in spagetti or lasagna or soup. For some reason that makes my stomach want to turn over.
I can see myselfing eat a raw bite after birthing. A smoothie with some ginger, cayenne, lemon might be tasty, or a fruit smoothie.

[lisarussell]

I like checking this thread periodically.

I have an update- I have officially passed the point when PPD has kicked in (after 5 births) and I still have some capsules left. In the beginning I "craved" a dose every few hours, and it occurred less and less over time, i am now "craving" one every 6-8 days. I have probably ten doses left and I think I can say without a doubt that it worked, it's amazing. I feel wonderful- This is the first time I've had a baby and NOT had some form of PPD, it's also the first winter I've had in many many years without any depression.

This stuff rocks, and I made it.

I bought my dehydrator for 2.99 at Goodwill and the coffee bean grinder from Goodwill for $3.99 and the encapsulating setup from some website that sells herbs and nutritional supplements, it's the EZcapsulemaker or something. The whole setup was about $25. Since then I've seen it cheaper on ebay. the capsule size I got was 00 and my placenta made about 180. I steamed it with a whole jalapeno, a ginger root, and a lemon. the website I read that on said that in ancient chinese medicine, those ingredients would intensify the effects. They didn't tell me how much to use, so I guessed- the jalapeno made like a pepper-spray feeling in the air, so I had to open all my windows in December. The recipe said to cut it into strips, but I cut it into teeny cubes so it would dry faster. the drying didn't make a smell, i was prepared to move the dehydrator to the garage if it did. the concoction was very hard to wash off of my pan. the meat took way longer to cook than the directions said it would.

SO- I screwed it all up and it still worked.

if we ever have another (and we don't plan to) I want to try dicing it into teeny pieces and freezing them on a cookie sheet individually, moving them to a ziploc baggy when they're done (so they don't stick together)- the capsules are good on-the-go (not like I ever go anywhere- so no stir crazy cabin fever here, i am content which isn't typical for me PP) but i just think raw foods are generally better.

[Limabean1975]

Hey, not sure if this was already discussed - but does anyone think that some of the effects of eating the placenta are passed on to the breastfeeding infant? I am assuming at least some would pass through breastmilk, and wondering what effects that might have on the baby...I'm having visions of less tendency to colic, better sleep....who knows?

[EMS]

I know this is an old thread, but was hoping I could revive it to ask a question. Would anyone be willing to share their story about eating the placenta--whether it helped or not, how you consumed it, etc--for an article I'm working on? I'm happy to change name and identifying details if you'd like.
Feel free to post or pm me.
Thanks so much!
Ellie

[the_lissa]

I can do it. I've already done an interview about it.

[jenchicago]

Epidural

Wait! Nobody answered the question that someone asked earlier... Would you still consume it if you had an epidural?

[mommyjamieof2]

I know I have seen said else where that you should not eat others placenta's but why? If I have depression and on meds and my best friend is having a home birth would it be bad to use hers? I know that is even worse then eating your own but hey if it works why not?