If so, how did you prepare it and what does it taste like?


This is a serious question.

I did not eat my placentas, never even occured to me at all.

Well, I never had a placenta. :mischief But, I'm curious at the outcome of the poll! :D

I didn't eat it. I didn't even get to see it. I didn't realize you *could* eat it!

I'm open to the possibility of eating future placentas....I'll have to bounce it offa DH and see what he thinks about it. I def wanna *SEE* it next time around!

Never have, but would definitely be open to it. :D

i really wanted to try it since i did research it but never did eat it. i didnt find a good recipe that i felt comfy with. altho some women make it into a smoothie (only a small bit of placenta) mixed with favorite fruits and veggies. i also heard you can dry it and grind it into a powder and make capsules out of it. you can also make it into a tincture (never found a good tincture recipe).

next time i probably will try it. who knows it may taste like chicken :yum :laugh:

I need the other option.

I planted mine under a lovely Mt Ash tree and the dog dug it up and ate it. :crying

Nope, it's actually cryogencially frozen with his cord blood. We had them both saved in case we ever needed them. I had never heard of eating it before.

i bet your dog will be the healthiest canine around ;)

Ummm....yes I did consume some of a placenta.

My midwife was concerned about the amount of blood I had lost, but it was borderline type concern, so to be safe I had some blendered up with tomato juice....kind of a homeopathic remedy for loss of blood...so and it was just like a tomato smoothy.

But I do know that folks have made a stew before...though I have not had that.

Joyce in the mts.

Nope I didn't eat mine :yikes: but I didn't really see it either :guilty I really wanted to look at it but I just never asked :duh I saw them put it in a bowl and I wanted to see it but then something must have happened to distract me because I forgot all about it until hours later :irked: I guess I was a little out of it probably. Next time I will tell them before I go into labor that I want to take it home bacause I want to bury it and plant a tree. I would have done that this time but we rent so I would not have had anywhere to plant it and I don't think dh would have been too happy to see a placenta every time he opens the freezer :jumpers: !!!!! He says he saw it after it came out and it gives him nightmares LOL LOL LOL :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: I would possibly be open to drying part of it and making it into a capsul that might be fun :thumb
Amy

No, and although I read up on the benefits I really can't see doing so for myself. I have major food control issues and have a hard time getting a lot of things down my throat that I know are good, normal, healthy foods... I like familiar things.

I remember being repulsed by it the first time, the 2nd time the midwife was very excited about it- said it was "the healthiest placenta she'd ever seen" whatever that means. I had an 11 pound baby, so I guess it was what she needed :) Anyway, after seeing the midwife look at it with awe, I gained a lot of respect for what it did and what it provided.

No, I don't think I would of since I was pumped full of so many drugs in the end. Maybe next time I will, I'll try the tomato juice idea.

Nope, didn't eat it but I did see it. Then I gave it to a friend who was there for my birth. She trains search & rescue dogs and placenta is a great training tool. She got 99 bottles of sample out of it. It made me happy because it will help train dogs that will bring closure to a grieving family one day. (In fact, she just helped find a drowning victim this weekend.)

Well this probably doesn't count, but I took one bite of raw placenta and one bite of cooked. It tasted really gross, like a mouthful of human blood. I would not do it again.

I just tried it because I was curious.

I would say that counts. you tried it and did not like it.

We meant to.... then never got motivated enough to research cooking ideas. It was sealed in our fridge for a month until dh planted it with a potted tree......which we will bonzai so it can stay in the same pot. The tree is outside so I thought we'd have a cat problem but we don't...maybe cause its actually under the tree. Either way, it was fun cause it freaked MIL out :yum





Autum
Proud mama to my breastfed, co sleeping, cloth diapered, hip huggin' sweethearts Kaiden (12/29/00) and Sasha (8/23/04- amazing UC!)

That just doesn't sound tasty :LOL

I had mine stir-fried with garlic and onions, although I wish I would have know about drying it and taking it in capsule form. As I told friends at the time- it wasn't gross, but certainly something I wouldn't order in a restaraunt.

I did have ppd (due to a homebirth turned unnecessary c-sect) but really I think I did it more for the experience. I was much more hard-core back then. Ironically, I was also a vegetarian!

Next came dd and I felt no need or desire to consume placenta. Hers was sent out to the Pacific Ocean.

.

I voted "yes, I did eat my placenta."

I blended some of it up with apples and peaches and ate some of it raw.

I prefered eating it raw as it was faster and easier. There was a slight taste of blood, but no big deal. I cut the bites up very small and swallowed them whole.

I had bad PPD after my 1st daughters birth and this time I have not experienced that at all. Im VERY glad that I decided to eat it and will do it again in the future (if I choose to have more children.)

Oh wow. I never knew you could do such a thing.
During the hospitals birthing class they told us you couldn't have it, not that I knew what you'd even want it for. Hmm... now I know!
I was out cold during the c-section so I never even saw it.

What an awesome thread. Really. I did so think about it w/#2 and it's so cool to know that somewhere in the world I could discuss it w/o feeling too, um, out there. Since my dogs won't let me bury anymore, I'll definitely consider it well if #3 decides to join us someday.
:love

eta: Is there any research showing its effects on PPD? My good friend is pg w/#4 and has horrible PPPsychosis. But, she's very skeptical of anything non-medical. I'd love to share cold, hard, facts.

No, i didnt eat it and like above didnt even see it much know that I could eat it.
I will not be eating it this time around either.

yes. I ate it raw. Every single hormone-related problem I had after DD1 was born did not bother me at all after DD2 was born and I ate the placenta. I'd definitely do it again if I ever have another baby.

No - I didn't. I had certainly heard of doing it and I don't think it's gross to do or anything, but it's not for me. I'm a vegetarian to begin with (although I wouldn't find eating my own placenta inhumane in any way) so I think eating it would be a bit weird. I didn't even save mine (or really see them for that matter) so I feel a little like the odd girl out on these boards in that respect. I always meant to at least check them out but in the moment it just never occured to me. Oh well. Maybe I can convince dh to let there be a "next time".

My dad says it's the only meat you can eat without having to kill something.

Didn't eat it, but I DID make my midwife show it to me and let me feel it and the amniotic sac. Wow! What an amazing piece of meat!

Ate both of mine (hey, can I vote twice? ;) )

This time I'm not planning on eating it, unless I feel like I want to.... I'm going to make a placenta tincture. I could still make the tincture and eat what's left. we'll see.

Oh, and I was vegan the first time and vegetarian the second.

And both times it was stir fried with onions, garlic, and mushrooms.

Nope. Never will. I cant even eat mayo without throwing up. LOL

I vote 'no' but I am open to it.

Mine is still in the freezer. (I know, I know, bad bad bad)
And since it is 2 1/2 years old now, I don't think I'll be thawing and munching.
I wish I had known then what I know now, though.. I would have eaten it and maybe spared myself my ppd.

I touched mine and looked at it. How cool!
But, no...Eating it didn't sound good. I'm not sure if its because my husband would never have kissed me again, or because I didn't quite realize all the benefits.
It got donated to train search & rescue dogs, which I felt great about. I was going to bury it if my MW didn't have a place for it...but, she did :love

hey, does anyone have a link to a site with instructions on drying and making it into capsules? i suffer from some serious hormonal depression from time to time as it is, and i wanna do whatever i can to avoid a bad bout of ppd.

aja :love

Aja,

I couldnt find the link that I had saved (although I bet if you look on the thread called Eating your placenta? in Im Pregnant you will find plenty) but these are the instructions that I had copied down when I was still pregnant. Maybe this will help you some.


Instructions on drying/encapsulating:

It takes about 12-16 hours to prepare the placenta. Cut the meat away from the membranes with a sharp knife. Discard the membranes and cord. To cook, wash excess blood from the placenta. Place it in a steamer over water. Steam
for 15 minutes, turn, and steam 15 more minutes until no juice comes out when pricked with a fork. (Steam over low heat, it has a tendency to boil over and that's a mess.) After steaming, slice the placenta in 1/8" strips, similar to making jerky. Slice as thin as possible. Place the strips on a cookie sheet and put it in an oven on the lowest possible setting for several hours until completely brittle-dry. Using a food dehydrator is even better, but will take longer. Powder the strips in a coffee grinder, or blender and encapsulate.

After the placenta is prepared it is taken, 2
capsules at a time, three times a day for two weeks postpartum or until no longer needed. Any remaining placenta can be saved and used homeopathically for those times when the child undergoes a separation from the mother. It can be kept indefinately, but for long term storage, freezing is recommended.

Not yet, but I plan to whenever this baby is born! :)

I am planning to do kinda like Lynsey - cut into small pieces, freeze them, and then swallow them whole like pills. That way I don't have to taste it or feel the squishy texture in my mouth. :)

No. That would be like being on my ownpersonal Fear Factor. Not something that I feel I need to do to be a complete person.

Not something that I feel I need to do to be a complete person.

Just wanted to add that I'm not doing it for the fun of it. I had severe PPD after my daughter's birth and would eat just about anything to avoid that again. I barely remember months and months of her first year of life. It was awful. :(

i wanted to, and it's still in the freezer at 15 weeks post partum...but i was so busy and stressed w/new baby that it seemed like work. will bury it and plant a tree above.

No. That would be like being on my ownpersonal Fear Factor. Not something that I feel I need to do to be a complete person.

don't you think that's a bit harsh? Do you think we ate our placentas "to be complete" or to prove our crunchworthiness? :irked:
I also had severe ppd after my first was born. My milk took six days to come in and I fought supply problems the first three months of DD1's life. I would do anything and everything in my power to not let that ever happen again. I ate my placenta after DD2 was born, and didn't suffer any of those problems.

No, but my friend and I have a question:

Why do so many of the recipes call for 3/4 of a placenta? What do you do with the rest of it?

Here's a link:
http://www.geocities.com/virtualbirth/placenta.html

No, I wish I had frozen it in cubes and/or kept part of it to plant w/ a tree though. I'd heard of it just before dd was born, and we were too preoccupied with packing and moving that I didn't really have a chance to run it by dh (although I'm sure that would have taken quite a bit of persuasion).... then dd came three weeks early and everything that day was such a whirlwind that I didn't think to tell the midwife I wanted to keep it. :bang I got to see and feel it and the cord though.... very cool. Will plan ahead better for next time to keep it. :thumb

In fact, the more I think about it, the sadder I get for letting it get tossed out. :guilty :bawl

I didn't..but kept it to plant after our birth. I am increasingly curious though about eating it (even if only a small peice or charred and put into capsules) especially for hemmorage and PPD. unfortunatley my DH is really grossed out about any and all placenta talk :eyesroll

Mine are all buried under various trees, mango, breadfruit, coconut, one has a frangipani.

Stacy, that is encouraging to hear! I also had breastfeeding problems in addition to my PPD (my milk also came in on the 6th day after my surgical birth) and I am happy to hear you had none of these problems this time around! :thumb

Do you mind me asking how you ate yours?

No. I had never heard of such a thing and I was in a hospital anyway. I don't think I could handle it. My doc. did make a point of showing it to me.

I haven't eaten my placenta. (It's still working, though, so I won't vote.) When it comes, though, I will be dining on it. I haven't decided how, yet, but I actually like the taste of blood, (you know, like when you lick a cut on your hand or something) so I doubt the raw taste will bother me in the least.

All those health benefits combined with a hard-working body? You bet I'll eat it!

No, I didn't eat mine. I read all about it, the benefits and everything and saw lots of different recipes, but it just seemed so icky. I think it's totally cool, I've heard it can be a very powerful experience preparing it and all, and I'm kind of in awe of those who have, but it just had too much gross factor for me. Makes me a little queasy. Social programming I'm sure, but it's still there.

Katie - I ate it raw because I had read that cooking or drying it diminishes some of the beneficial properties. I had also heard that cooking or drying it really stinks, and I am super sensitive to bad smells. It wasn't so bad, really, or I'd have just eaten that one first bite my midwife cut off for me and buried the rest. I just cut it away from the cord and membranes and tore it into chunks I could swallow whole. Held each piece under my tongue as long as I could stand it, and swallowed em down. I'm a very picky eater, lots of food makes me ill just to think about eating it (undercooked meat, cabbage, yogurt, brussel sprouts, for example) but I had no problems eating raw placenta.

I'll eat it when the baby's done with it. :LOL

I did not eat any of it, but I would if I thought I needed to.
My bleeding was controlled at my last birth, but if things get our of hand like they did once before, then I would swallow a piece of it like a friend did to help.
I think she said she just swallowed back a dime sized piece with water.
My placenta is in my freezer at the moment.

[r

Not I.

We donated ours to science. They use the stem cells! It was free for us, and we hope it can save someone later.

A lot of hospitals do that. I highly recommend it.

No, I did not eat the placenta, but it's only a matter of time. The placenta has been in our freezer for 2.5 years and I figure some day we'll plant a tree on it or something. But in the meantime, about every other month DH rummages through the freezer looking for something to make for dinner and comes across the placenta and says:

"Oooh... what's this?"

(pause)

"ACK! It's the placenta!!! We really should LABEL this thing!"