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Who's going to eat their placenta?  

post #1 of 33
6/9/08 at 10:31am
Thread Starter 
This is the first time I've considered it. My midwife suggested it since humans are the only mammal that normally does not and it can really help regulate hormones and resupply Iron. I'm thinking about eating about a quarter of it in a smoothie. :Anyone else? My dh is totally grossed out by the idea.
post #2 of 33
6/9/08 at 11:54am
hm... I am definitely considering it, but I guess I wouldn't have the guts to go through with it if it wasn't for dp. He has read up some stuff about it and now is checking on recipes And he keeps talking about what a nice meal he will cook me from my placenta... I am a bit like, okay, fine, I might even try it and it might even be yummy, but could we please NOT TALK ABOUT IT?!

One of the most convincing arguments for me is that it is supposed to help balancing the hormones and prevent postnatal depression. I am rather shocked by how much the hormonal changes during this pregnancy influenced me (in a negative way), so I would do a lot to get a grip on that in advance.
post #3 of 33
6/9/08 at 12:06pm
im having my mom encapsulate mine. wish i had the nerve to cook it and eat it, but i dont
post #4 of 33
6/9/08 at 1:03pm
I would do it if I had someone to dry it and put it in capsules. Since I don't, I won't.
post #5 of 33
6/9/08 at 1:39pm
nope. I'm not a fan of red meat in general, so I just don't think I could do it, dried or not. We plant ours under birthday trees for our kids, and that's the most I can manage.
post #6 of 33
6/9/08 at 2:28pm
My sis is encapsulating mine today.
post #7 of 33
6/9/08 at 3:02pm
I want to encapsulate mine, but my doula was telling me that the hospital wont give it to me because it is considered a bio-hazard and therefore needs to be disposed of. When I go for my doctors appointment tomorrow, I'm going to ask him if I can have it and see what he says.
post #8 of 33
6/9/08 at 3:33pm
Even if I could convince the hospital to release it I wouldn't... I don't see anything wrong with it, but it doesn't "make sense" in my head.

I would kind of like a imprint...but I'm nervous to ask! :P
post #9 of 33
6/9/08 at 4:14pm
I'm going to have it encapsulated. The post-partum support/help (both to slow/stop the bleeding, lift my emotions and bring my milk in really well, as well as supply-help when AF returned was invaluable) - no way am I giving that up this time!!!
post #10 of 33
6/9/08 at 5:07pm
Well, I might have just changed my plans First, I'll eat the whole thing if I pph and it'll keep me out of the hospital. Since I'm not at risk for pph my plan is to make placenta prints from it. However, I am now interested in the healing effects of encapsulating it. I have a giant dehydrator. I'm going to read more about drying it. But, if I put paint or ink on it I prolly won't want to eat it huh? There's no guarantee I could get all the paint off. I'll do my first prints w/the blood on it but I really wanted to do more. Hmmmmmm.

Anybody have a good resource for all the gooness you get from encapsulating it - or personal stories. I'd like to know more about your experience BF. This is baby #4 for me so I need to heal and heal well. Our house is busy and loud and I'm already concerned about how difficult it's going to be to get the rest I need to heal.
post #11 of 33
6/9/08 at 5:34pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by elfinbaby View Post
Well, I might have just changed my plans First, I'll eat the whole thing if I pph and it'll keep me out of the hospital. Since I'm not at risk for pph my plan is to make placenta prints from it. However, I am now interested in the healing effects of encapsulating it. I have a giant dehydrator. I'm going to read more about drying it. But, if I put paint or ink on it I prolly won't want to eat it huh? There's no guarantee I could get all the paint off. I'll do my first prints w/the blood on it but I really wanted to do more. Hmmmmmm.

Anybody have a good resource for all the gooness you get from encapsulating it - or personal stories. I'd like to know more about your experience BF. This is baby #4 for me so I need to heal and heal well. Our house is busy and loud and I'm already concerned about how difficult it's going to be to get the rest I need to heal.

: Plus, does anyone have any good info/links on the how-to of encapsulating a placenta? TIA!!
post #12 of 33
6/9/08 at 6:14pm
This is what my MW sent me when I asked:

Quote:
PLACENTA CAPSULES
This is what I did with my placenta, and it worked out fine.
Take the raw placenta, cut off the cord and membranes. Use a sharp knife; it's tough! Cut the placenta into two or three pieces, and put them in the blender. Blenderize the placenta. It will look like ground meat, or spam. It won't be soupy! Spread the placenta mush into the fruit roll tray of a food dehydrator and dehydrate for most of a day. I put my dehydrator out on the porch because it *can* get a little uh, aromatic. ;o)
Take the dehydrated placenta out of the dehydrator and put it back into the (washed and dried) blender. Powder it like you would to make cracker crumbs. The end result will look very much like instant coffee granules. You can now 'cap it up', or fill empty capsules with it. The average placenta will fill 60-100 capsules. (Mine filled 100)
Now you may take the capsules, and 'eating' your placenta will not seem nearly as disgusting.
post #13 of 33
6/9/08 at 6:23pm
i'm not in the ddc but found this under "new posts" but for our next LO i seriously suffered from a post partum hemmorage 10 days after i gave birth, which nearly left my son motherless and my husband a widower so i'm seriously considering going about things another way and if that means eating the placenta well than so be it....
post #14 of 33
6/9/08 at 6:28pm
When I helped encapsulate someone elses this is what we did:
Remove the cord, membranes and slice in 1 - 1.5 inch pieces. Arrange on dehydrator tray(s) and dehydrate until dry. Grind in coffee grinder (best to use an old one) and put into capsules. Keep them in the freezer to keep them fresh for years if you want.

I used my capsules from my last baby to keep my milk supply up every single month it crashed (the first two days) when AF showed (I always get it SO early! Like 3m pp).

I took 2 at once to keep my mood ok when I got babyblues and had some some anxiety... it would make me feel within about 15 min. like I'd had a latte!

I used it to slow/stop my pp bleeding taking one or two a day for the first few weeks.

It brought my milk in quickly and very well and if I ever had a supply dip I could take a few and it would help immediately.

Overall, I think it's pretty amazing...
post #15 of 33
6/9/08 at 7:34pm
What if you don't have access to a dehydrator? I'm really hoping to be able to talk my doctor into letting me take mine home, but I don't have a dehydrator..

Also, does it get really grossly stinky? We're living with my mother who would flip out about cooking a placenta in her oven.
post #16 of 33
6/9/08 at 8:51pm
I only plan to eat it if there is any sign of PPH. But I do want to encapsulate it to have it over time. It was a hard decision because the pagan in me kindof wanted to save it and bury it. But then I thought about how I never did that for my son, so maybe it would be weird to have done it for just one.
post #17 of 33
6/9/08 at 8:53pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by BirthFree View Post
I used my capsules from my last baby to keep my milk supply up every single month it crashed (the first two days) when AF showed (I always get it SO early! Like 3m pp).

I took 2 at once to keep my mood ok when I got babyblues and had some some anxiety... it would make me feel within about 15 min. like I'd had a latte!

I used it to slow/stop my pp bleeding taking one or two a day for the first few weeks.

It brought my milk in quickly and very well and if I ever had a supply dip I could take a few and it would help immediately.

Overall, I think it's pretty amazing...


can I quote you on another board?? We're discussing the benefits.
post #18 of 33
6/9/08 at 10:30pm
Yep! Go ahead and quote away.
post #19 of 33
6/9/08 at 10:52pm
I'm doing it! Actually my doula is encapsulating it for me and I will take it by capsules because I can't really stomach eating it any other way. She is bringing the capsules over tomorrow...
post #20 of 33
6/10/08 at 12:31pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by mamaspirit View Post
I'm doing it! Actually my doula is encapsulating it for me and I will take it by capsules because I can't really stomach eating it any other way. She is bringing the capsules over tomorrow...
in the ppd forum there is all the info and links one would need it is a HUGE thread on placentaphagy. btw, you have a great doula!
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