eating placenta vs. DIY encapsulation vs. hiring a pro

Precious_Partum · 09-10-2009, 12:25 PM

Hi ladies,

I'm 37 weeks pregnant and really interested in using my placenta to bounce back after birth and avoid PPD. The only thing I can't decide is how I'd like to go about doing this and I'd like some advice from those of you who have some background in placenta medicine.

Would a "placenta smoothie" immediately after the birth be enough to reap the benefits, or would continued use of the capsules provide better results over the long term? Ever had a client do both (eat and encapsulate)? I'm not so sure if my doula would be very thrilled to make a placenta smoothie for me, and I doubt my midwife would include that in her service package with everything else she's busy doing. (Not to mention, although I love the idea in theory, I have to wonder if I'll be able to actually go through with it.... slightly squeamish about tasting my own placenta. Anyone have a really terrific recipe?)

I don't know if I can afford to hire an encapsulation specialist, but the PBi do-it-yourself kit might be an affordable option for me. However, I don't know when or how I'll be able to prepare my own placenta after birth, particularly if I'm really wiped out physically or emotionally, postpartum (which is exactly why I'd want the capsules in the first place). Anyone here ever encapsulated their own placenta? Was it hard to do? Should I just hire an encapsulation specialist and spare myself the trouble and worry over this?

ideas? advice? snide remarks?

TIA

mrslifeofreilly · 09-10-2009, 12:30 PM

I did both.

After the birth my midwife divided the placenta in two. One half she took back with her to encapsulate and the other half she cut into 1 inch cubes and put them in my freezer. Every morning for about the first two weeks postpartum my husband blended me up a smoothie with 1 piece placenta, lots of frozen strawberries, sugar and orange juice. It was really tasty and you couldn't taste placenta at all (when we were out of placenta I had him make me one the same way, except without placenta and it tasted exactly the same).

After those 2 weeks I started taking the encapsulated placenta and made it to 8 weeks with them.

I felt and continue to feel fantastic and would def. do it that way again.

raeben · 09-10-2009, 01:07 PM

i did my own placenta. i laid in bed for the first 48+ hours after birth and then my first trip upstairs was to do the placenta. it was only the second or third time i had done the process but i felt really comfortable doing it and it was kind of a special experience because i had lots of dreams of my placenta and felt extra connected to it - although i don't know how it is possible to be more connected than i already was.

i definitely believe in both the short and long term benefits of placenta and would want to take advantage of both. if i had it to do over again this is probably what i would do: i would cut off a few small pieces for placenta smoothie right away and save the rest to encapsulate. i would probably do both kinds of encapsulation - thin slice and dehydrate some raw and do the rest according to the traditional method of steaming in herbs, thin slicing and dehydrating. i would like to see how i experienced the difference between the two. i would tincture it again and make a homeopathic remedy as well for the baby and myself to use for the rest of our lives. oh, and before i did all of this i would definitely make a lot of placenta prints and art.

raeben · 09-10-2009, 01:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Precious_Partum

I don't know if I can afford to hire an encapsulation specialist, but the PBi do-it-yourself kit might be an affordable option for me. However, I don't know when or how I'll be able to prepare my own placenta after birth, particularly if I'm really wiped out physically or emotionally, postpartum (which is exactly why I'd want the capsules in the first place). Anyone here ever encapsulated their own placenta? Was it hard to do? Should I just hire an encapsulation specialist and spare myself the trouble and worry over this?

feel free to wait a couple days post birth - you don't have to do it immediately afterwords or anything. you could even smoothie a bit and freeze the rest to do a week or two later when you have more energy - even though it is most beneficial to start ingesting it within the first few days - imo, a week or two later is way better than no placenta medicine at all.

do you have a placenta lady in your area? it might be good to know how to contact her just in case so you can see if you are up to it and if so, great, if not, call placenta lady. if you do want to do it yourself but get stuck, feel free to call me and we can talk through any process questions you have (pm me beforehand and i'll give you my number). another good option would be to get the DIY kit - even if you cant do it, the instructions are clear enough that you could get your doula, sister, friend, possibly even husband to do it for you. i had some doula clients who were all gung-ho to do it themselves and had ordered the DIY kit but then she had a super big tear and found she would be in hospital for 3 days. they were just going to craigslist the DIY kit but i was willing to do it for them.

do you have a dehydrator? that would be the one item i would recommend getting beforehand if you think you or a friend might do it for you. it doesn't have to be fancy and if you just do your placenta (not others) on it and then clean it well, you could totally use it for drying fruit later.

Precious_Partum · 09-11-2009, 10:07 AM

I do know of about 3 or 4 placenta ladies in my state, but they are all at least 2 hours away so I need to check with each of them to see what they charge and if they're willing to travel to me for this service. Although my DH is supportive and understands the benefits of placentophagy, this will be his very first birth-related experience and he's super squeamish about what he calls the "blood and guts" of birth, so eating my placenta in a smoothie really freaks him out, and preparing the placenta in our house adds another ick factor to him as well. So, because of that, calling in a pro seems like the best option. We're just ultra strapped for cash. I also need to discuss with my doula about doing the smoothie. I don't think she's ever done it before and may not be comfortable with it. I kind of think blending it with a daiquiri mixer, ginger ale, and strong-flavored fruits/juices(orange, mango, pineapple, strawberry) would conceal the flavor, so it wouldn't bother me, but it could potentially bother my doula or my DH. Like I said before.. I'd do it myself if I had the physical capacity to do so at the time, but that ain't gonna happen. lol

*sigh* decisions, decisions...

thanks for all your input! I definitely want to do this, I just need to iron out the how-to's.

mrslifeofreilly · 09-11-2009, 11:04 AM

Your DH may be more ok with it once it is time, and I'd think a doula would be ok with it. My DH wasn't too keen on the idea of making my smoothies but he said he'd do it anyway because he didn't want me to have ppd again. Once he actually started doing them he commented that it wasn't anything like he expected (since the midwife did all the prep work). All he had to do was blend a frozen cube. He said it just looked like frozen steak and didn't bother him at all.

He was very proud of himself for making placenta smoothies taste yummy and even suggested I take a photo of one to show others that it does indeed look tasty. Too bad I didn't have a little drink umbrella for the photo

amymaew · 09-11-2009, 04:53 PM

I had a client who ate some of her placenta raw and I encapsulated the rest. Totally doable.