Why, Yes I Did Eat My Placenta!

I have intrigued many of my family and friends by telling them that I ate my placenta after Rowan was born.  I'll let that sink in for a minute...

***FYI There will be pics of my placenta in this post, I'm just letting y'all know now before you delve too deep. If you can't handle that...turn back now!!  But, it's not as gross as it may seem.***

Okay, so I didn't fry my placenta up and eat it with a side of french fries.  I had it encapsulated.  Placental encapsulation is actually not as uncommon as you might think.

Backing up a bit.  Long ago, when I was still pregnant and working (seems like eons ago now!) I was having discussions with my friends at work about eating placenta.  What?  You don't have these conversations with your coworkers??  See, one of my CNAs (from Kenya, let's just throw in the culture mix, otherwise this might get even odder) wanted to eat my and another person's placentas after birth.  Only he wanted to do it all cannibal style.  Or he wanted our breast milk to treat eye infections...Now most, if not all, of these talks ended in all of us laughing but it got me to thinking, what is so great about the placenta that other cultures know and we don't?

I remember hearing a couple of years ago on the radio that there were websites that actually gave recipes on how to prepare and eat placenta.  At the time, I was thinking there is ABSOLUTELY no way I would ever do that!  Who in their right minds wants to eat placenta?  Seriously.

Fast-forward again to the time when I was pregnant.  I was talking to my sister and she was telling me about this fantastic blog that she reads, MODG, and how the author had her placenta encapsulated. ***side note, I absolutely love this blog and it makes me laugh out loud and someday I want to be besties with the author (no I am not a stalker!)***  My sister sent me a link to the specific entry about the placenta.  I read it (then proceeded to spend the next three days getting caught up on the MODG story) and then did some research on my own.

Consuming the placenta is supposed to decrease postpartum depression, aid in faster recovery, help your milk come in faster, and provide you with a TON of vitamins and minerals (think, you are consuming the organ that provided all of the nutrients to your baby).  It also does some other beneficial things, but those were my top reasons in my decision.

I discussed all of this with my husband and he was all for it as long as I actually took the pills because we had to pay to have this done.

I wanted my midwife's opinion also before I committed to anything and when I mentioned placental encapsulation to her she got super excited.  I mean "you have just won a million dollars" excited.  Turns out she is a mega-fan of the placenta.  She even gave me the card for a doula that provided encapsulation services.  I contacted the doula (who was extremely sweet and I recommend her to anyone in the Washington area!) and got everything arranged.  After this experience, if I was still living in WA with my next kiddo I would see about her doula services, she was so nice!

After I delivered my placenta, it was placed into a biohazard bag and then a container so that my husband could deliver the placenta to her the next morning.  We just had to keep it refrigerated (not frozen) until delivery.  She emailed me some pics of the prep work and I received my placenta capsules the very next morning.  I wish I could have observed the process, but I was kinda in the hospital...

My placenta was so big, the doula thought that Rowan was around 9 lbs (he was 7.5)

Kinda icky, I know, but at least it's healthy!

I got a ton of capsules, more than the average I guess.  The instructions were to take two capsules three times a day for the first two weeks postpartum.  I followed the directions and I think it made a difference.  Mood-wise, I was much more emotionally stable and less down compared to now (depression sucks, but that's another entry).  I did have to stop taking them for a few days because the instructions said to stop taking them temporarily if any kind of infection develops.  I guess that the placenta capsules can actually drive the infection further into the body making it harder to fight.  I had a UTI a few days after I got home (sheer hell, let me tell you!).  After that pain when away though, I started the pills again.

If there are leftover pills I guess they keep forever.  They can be used during times of "extreme emotional stress" or can be saved for menopause.  The B vitamins deactivate though if they are frozen.  It's recommended to keep them in a dark, cool, dry place (like my bedside table).  I actually have a lot left over.  I'm thinking about starting them again to see if they can improve the down feelings.

Do I recommend placenta encapsulation for you? Maybe.  I think they helped me, but then again, I have no other birth experience to compare it to.  Next time I give birth I am planning on doing it again.

I leave you with a couple of pics.  I documented the initial dose for my sister since she couldn't be there to observe.  Enjoy!

My first dose.  They were very "fragrant" when I opened the jar.

This is part of my umbilical cord preserved in the shape of a heart.  It turned out really cool!