Time to talk...Placenta!

[Lemon Juice]

I'm sure most of us know how wonderful our placentas are and how much use they have for us after our babes are born. Not only can it lower your chance for PPD and help w/ hemmorage after birth..it can be used in a tincture for your entire family! That's some good stuff!

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Who is going to eat/consume in some way, their placenta? How are you going to prepare it or what are you going to do w/ it if you aren't eating it?

I plan on drying it out and then grind down and encapsulate it. I haven't gotten the supplies yet, but my midwife told me Whole Foods has vegetarian capsules, so I will probably get them there.

Those of you who have done this...what do you suggest? Tips or advice? I think I will buy a food dehydrator b/c we have wanted one anyway and can use it after no problem. Anyone use one? I'm not too sure about using the oven...it's gas and I don't want it on that long, kwim?

I think we'll also make a tincture for the family (well I know dp won't be using any of this...but the kiddos and I don't mind )

I got this info from a friend:

I am planning on taking a small piece off to use for tincture(which among other placental benefits of iron increase, helping the uterus contract to normal size and helps with depression/ppd it is supposedly beneficial for clearing up the common cold!). Then the rest(barring hemmorhage where I would need to eat some) will be used for encapsulation via the method below which my most awesome best friend is going to do for me!

Gently rinse the fresh placenta (it must not have been frozen, the fresher the better), keeping as much blood as possible. Steam the placenta for 15 minutes, then turn it over and steam for 15 more minutes. In the steaming water you must put a jalapeño pepper, some fresh ginger root and a slice of lime. When the placenta is finished steaming slice it into thin strips and place these in a dehydrator or your oven at its lowest temperature. Dry the strips until they are completely dry, they should snap. This generally takes about 8 to 10 hours. Your house will smell like placenta (women like this smell but men generally find it unpleasant). When the slices are completely dry, break them up into smaller chunks and then grind them into a fine powder. Raven noted that any energy you have while working with the placenta will be absorbed into the medicine, so please keep yourself centered. This also applies to your mode of grinding-if you use a blender or electric grinder your placenta will have "blender energy" (direct quote from Raven!). A mortar and pestle can be used or a hand grinder. Raven said you can also put the pieces in a paper bag and pound with a rock. When you have powdered the placenta keep it in a cool dark place in a glass jar tightly capped. It will keep indefinitely this way.

I bought my vegetarian capsules at the local health food store, but they are sold by Frontier, so you can get them from them. You really aren't waiting that long, it is only about 8 hrs from birth, so unless you are hemorrhaging and need to eat a little piece, you should be ok with the capsules.

Anyone have a good tincture recipe? Got this from same friend:

Making Placenta Tincture (Essence)


Another method of using your placenta is to make a Placenta Tincture (also called Essence). This can be very helpful for postpartum depression, or anytime you need a little hormonal help.

1 40 Ounce Bottle of 80-100 Proof Vodka
1 Quart-Sized Mason Jar (You can use a larger jar if needed.)


The size of the jar will depend on how much tincture you want to make. Take your placenta after the birth, while it is still fresh, and put a fair sized piece of it in the jar you are going to use. If using the large pickling jar size, you can put the whole placenta inside it. Whatever size you use, cover the piece of placenta completely with distilled water. When I Have made herbal tinctures, I have used good quality bottled spring water when I can't find distilled water.

Place the jar in the sunlight or in a well-lit room for about 4 hours. Once done, take the piece of placenta out and add enough vodka so that its 50% vodka and 50% placenta water.

Keep it this way to preserve it, it will last the rest of your life. The instructions didn't say anything about storing the placenta water-alcohol mixture, but I would probably want to make sure it is kept in a well sealed jar and in the refrigerator where it can stay cool.

Now, to put it in usable form, get a small bottle with a dropper top. Put 50% regular water and 50% vodka in the bottle, then add 7 to 10 drops of the placenta water to the bottle.

This seems like a very small amount, but it has been said that it works through the energy of the placenta water and the vibrational properties of it. Many women that have had postpartum depression swear by it.

If you want the placenta water to be stronger and more the color of strong tea, use a larger piece of placenta in a smaller bottle.

It is important that this is done when the placenta is strong and very new, so if you don't feel like doing it yourself while hubby holds the baby, you may need someone else to do this for you. Your may ask your midwife to do this for you if she is willing.

I have been told that it doesn't matter how much placenta you use as long as you follow the instructions well and it is completely submerged in the water.

The tincture will supposedly knock out a cold in no time at all and is supposed to be fabulous for menopause as well and will keep indefinately.

[Luv2bemommy]

I don't plan on eat mine on purpose. If for some reason I have PPH I will! I would love to dry mine and put them in capsules but I don't think that will happen since I don't have time to do it and I don't have a dehydrator. I do plan on making placenta prints and burying mine some time in the future.

[Lemon Juice]

What about your oven? I hear using it on low, around 200 for 8-10 hours is enough. Grinding is easy enough..it's just filling in those capsules after that. I hear ya on the time thing...dp won't be touching the placenta so it's all me.

[StarMama]

I've been thinking about this, I'd like to get mine in capsules, but sheesh I don't know how I'm going to have any time or energy to do so after birthing! Dh and I have been discussing UC'ing, and getting him to agree to cut me bits if I need it to avoid hemorrhaging was just about his limit!

[MamaSong]

Yahoo! I love placentas!!!

I dried and encapsulated my last placenta and it was so easy! First I washed it off in the sink and cut off the part where the umbilical cord was attached. Then I cut it into small strips. Then I put it in my friends dehydrator - she does the dehydrating out in her garage because it is a bit stinky. If I remember correctly it takes about 24 hours to dry in the dehydrator. Probably depends on how small and thin you cut your strips too. Then I put the dried out pieces in a coffee grinder to grind it all up. Then, you can buy these things called encapsulators and they're really cheap. Its basically a grid where you have the bottom half of each capsule held upright and it makes filling the capsules much easier and faster because you can kind of just shake the placenta powder over like 30 capsules at a time to fill them up and then keep wiping up and re-shaking what doesn't make it into the capsules. When they're full you put the top half of the capsule on to seal it and - THAT'S IT- you have beautiful, healthy, placenta pills to pop! Woo-hoo! I'm definitely doing mine again. I don't have a dehydrator, but I am going to look on craig's list and just buy one used. I would love to do them for women as a business, that's what my friend does - its so great.

I will probably take my old placenta pills until I get my new ones made. I'm also not opposed to doing a placenta smoothie with a small piece of raw placenta right after the birth. And, if I was having a bleeding issue I'd just tear off a big chunk with my teeth and wolf it down - I'm an animal!!!!!!! LOL!!!!!!!!

[theboysmama]

I will be consuming mine in a smoothy immediately after birth. My midwife is going to chop it into bite size chunks and put in a ziplic for me. Then I will add a couple to the first smoothy and then 1 to a smoothy about 2x a day. After about day 4 or 5 I will put the rest in the freezer and keep using it until it is gone.
After ds3 my ppd got pretty bad (I had never had it before). I encapsulated my placenta (it had been previously frozen) at about 7wks postpartum and it worked wonders. the depression ceased, I had an increase of energy, appetite, etc. It was just amazing. I have heard that it is better fresh and that is why I am going to go the smoothy route. I also found that drying and encapsulating was very time consuming and I think the smoothy might be easier.
Here are some excellent resources for placentophogy:
MDC Thread
Wikipedia
About. com
Placenta Benefits Info
MSNBC article
USA Today article

There is tons more info out there. These are things that I found helpful especially the mdc thread and the placenta benefits info website (I spoke w/ jodi on the phone and she was extremely helpful).
I am sure there are lots of other things you can do w/ it like prints, planting trees (we planted a cherry tree w/ ds1) but consuming it had the most benefits for me. :: It was just amazing

[KindRedSpirit]

I LOVE placentas too!!!!!!

I have made the essence, and if there is no sunlight, I think the top of a warm oven may work to heat the essence into the water.

I've also made capsules,used the oven-electric though,and I had bad insomnia with that baby and get it anytime I take a capsule...could be a mental thing, who knows...

I made the above and a bloody mary with placenta for a friend-in the hospital recovery room, no less, vodka, blender and all, at 3 am!!!not too shabby!

BUT, MY personal FAVE is the smoothie.It has drastically faster effects,is non-detectable, and delish,refreshing in every way!I use a blender full of frozen strawberries,toss on a whole bannana, and a tablespoon or ice tray cube size piece of placenta and it makes about 4 big glassfulls.I just repeat at will until the sad day when it's gone.By which time my hormones are more level.

I also dry and keep the cord and caul-I may plant these eventually.

This time I will finally do placenta prints too!

[MamaSong]

I am going to be giving birth at a friends house - so I think I will just bring my blender so that I can make a big batch of smoothies. I have been wondering if it is gross to make a placenta smoothie in her blender - so I might as well just bring my own. I didn't have PPD with my first birth, but it was a difficult adjustment none the less and I had several really intense periods of crying where I just couldn't stop. I didn't know anything about eating your placenta then - too bad. I encapsulated mine about a year and a half after ds was born. The following month I had an ectopic pregnancy which ended in surgery. My placenta capsules were a god send - they kept my spirits up and really helped me to feel on an even keel after the abrupt surgical end of the pregnancy.

I guess I share that because even if you don't feel like encapsulating right after birth - you can still do it even years later and reap the benefits.

[Lemon Juice]

Ohhh great ideas, mamas! Thanks for the links too, theboysmama


Starmama, have you thought about hiring a PP doula to help encapsulate the placenta? Dp suggested that when I asked him to help...but personally I will just do it myself to save some dough

MamaSong..did you a capsule machine? I think I might just go w/ this. What do you think?

I think I am going to try a smoothie as well. From what i'm told on my sono my placenta is pretty big! : So I might have enough to do a few smoothies (to hold me over till the pills are ready) and then make some capsules and the essence too. :

[theboysmama]

Originally Posted by KindRedSpirit

BUT, MY personal FAVE is the smoothie.It has drastically faster effects,is non-detectable, and delish,refreshing in every way!I use a blender full of frozen strawberries,toss on a whole bannana, and a tablespoon or ice tray cube size piece of placenta and it makes about 4 big glassfulls.I just repeat at will until the sad day when it's gone.By which time my hormones are more level.

So glad to hear that you like the smoothie option. I don't think I could have stomached it last time but the benefits of the encapsulation were so awesome I want to reap the benefits immediately and I think it will be less work.

Originally Posted by Lemon Juice

Ohhh great ideas, mamas! Thanks for the links too, theboysmama

MamaSong..did you a capsule machine? I think I might just go w/ this. What do you think?

I love sharing those links especially the awesome mdc thread. It really helped me to be able to make a confident decision.

About using an encapsulator, i didn't so it is definately possible. It might be quicker to use it w/ one but I found it to be perfectly fine.
When dehydrating it if you have a dehydrator I would recommend putting it in the garage or a shed or something like that. Mine smelled very birthy and was too strong for me to have done it in the house. (Things smelled very birthy after ds's birth so that might have had something to do w/ it, didn't have that birthy smell after my first two.)

[Luv2bemommy]

Wow! I didn't know they made a capsule machine.. I'm gonna look into that. I don't know honestly if I will have the time to do it though..

How does the smoothies taste? Can you taste the blood? That's my fear..

[StarMama]

That's my concern with trying to cook it on low in the oven, that it'll be very smelly... and a dehydrator just isn't in the budget... but I didn't think about craigslist!

[KindRedSpirit]

Luv2bemommy-NO!No blood tase, smell, hint at all!Just the benefits!

StarMama-We dehydrated in our oven and it was not smelly at all, though it would depend on the placenta...

Also, you could just make the capsule powder and sprinkle it over food rather than encapulate.It seems if you keep it in an airtight container, it should be fine.

Mama's with capsules-Do you keep your capsules in the freezer or cupboard for long-term keeping?

[gretae]

when you do placenta prints do you guys wash and dry it and then make the prints or do you print it fresh from the oven (so to speak) with blood and stuff on it? I would imagine it would look cool either way but have never done it and would like to this time around.

[Sage_SS]

I have been trying to find someone who can start this process for me, as I'll be in the hospital for a couple of days. My DH flat out refuses to touch it, or discuss its uses, he totally grosses out!
My gf is supposed to come out and she said she'd steam it and get it dehyrdated for me. I can do the grinding part whenever, as long as its dehydrated, right?

[Sunshine_Amy]

My midwives recommended this to me--eating the placenta. I had heard about it, but I was surprised to have it recommended. The more I read, the more it sounds like the benefits are substantial enough that I might be able to get over the gross factor.

So I'm thinking about it....
But the main interfering issue is that I'm planning to do a lotus birth. (Leaving the placenta un-cut and attached to baby, to fall off naturally-- which usually happens faster than when cut. Falls off as soon as 3 days, I've read.) So, I'll be applying salt to it to help it to dry out, and slow down (maybe even prevent) rotting. But I suspect that some degree of rot may happen to it, however much I salt it, and it doesn't seem smart to later consume it if there's any doubt about it having spoiled. Any thoughts/solutions?

BTW, my midwives mentioned a woman who will dry and encapsulate a placenta for a fee. I got the impression that she did it by mail, although I may be wrong. Sounded pricey, like a few hundred bucks. But if anyone wants me to inquire with my Midwives for more info, drop me a PM, and I'll do so.

[Swandira]

I've been talking to a lady who does placentas locally, and she charges $75 to prep and dry it (at your house), and then you have to grind and encapsulate it yourself. She also mentioned that she knew someone who would take it away and do the whole thing elsewhere for around $200. Does that sound pretty normal to you guys?

In case I do have to grind it myself, what grinding method have y'all used in the past that was easy? I'm totally not into doing this in a way involving much elbow grease. I'd rather save my strength for lactating and washing diapers.

Nealy

[MamaSong]

For grinding you can just use a coffee grinder. Maybe you don't want to use the one you use to grind your coffee, but maybe that doesn't bother you?

As for price, the woman I know who does them in Spokane charges $50 to pick it up from your house, dry and encapsulate it - the whole shebang - so $75 bucks just to cut and dry it seems like the normal Seattle area mark-up, lol.

[arahzel]

If I'm having a hospital birth, what's the likelihood of me being able to keep the placenta?

[AutumnMama]

I had DS2's placenta encapsulated, and I want to have it done again.
There is a lady who lives about and hour and a half away; she charges $50.