I totally ate my placenta, and it was the best thing I ever did. If you live in a modern metropolis or hippy commune, you’ve already heard about the popularity of placenta encapsulation and its mind blowing benefits. Did you know all mammals eat their placenta? The act of eating the placenta after you give birth is called placentophagy, and this is no trend, this is basic instinct, and there’s a reason for it. Many women are choosing to use their placenta as a postpartum remedy to help decrease the baby blues, regain their strength after pregnancy, level off their hormones, and increase breast milk production. I have a few friends who went carnal and actually fried it up and ate it with fava beans and a good Chianti (okay, kidding about that last part) but being vegan and a little squeamish – I didn’t want to go that hardcore so I chose another route. I called in a pro.
Jennifer Mayer encapsulated and prepared my placenta, and owns Brooklyn Placenta Services and Baby Caravan offering placenta encapsulation and doula services to families in New York City.
She told me;
Moms can use all the help they can get after having a baby and placenta encapsulation is an important resources she can utilize. In addition to the common ways of trying to create an easier postpartum period like getting help around the house, trying to rest, and eating well, taking the placenta capsules is an essential tool new moms can add to their toolbox to help their postpartum transition be smoother and more enjoyable. From the clients I’ve worked with over the past 5 years, the most common benefit moms share is that the placenta capsules give them the boost of energy they need. Another great benefit mothers report is mood stabilization, particularly if a mom is feeling weepy or overwhelmed, the capsules can help her feel calm and balanced. Other benefits reported include an increase in breast milk supply, a decrease in bleeding, and faster healing. Recently, I had my first baby and I prepared my own placenta. The capsules really helped me get through the long days with the mood and energy boost I needed. I always knew how special and magical the capsules are but now having taken them myself I can truly say they were so helpful for me in those tough early first weeks!
Here’s my story:
After the birth of my first son I had zero post partum or baby blues, I was in that first baby bliss for at least a year. For baby number two I had a short dose of baby blues I could have done without! I heard about the magic of placenta encapsulation and chose to try it this time around, for my third child. What did I have to lose except a few hundred bucks? So I contacted Jen at Brooklyn Placenta as soon as I gave birth. The nurse in the delivery room put my placenta in a tupperware container in the ice pack I’d brought along. A few hours later Jen’s assistant picked up my placenta, they took it back to their placenta palace (I’m sure it’s just Jen’s apartment or office, but I’d like to imagine a goddess hut filled with crystals, patchouli, and giggling babies) and started the preparation. The next morning Jen dropped off a lovely blue bottle of pills in pretty tissue paper. It felt like I was getting a really special present. I took the pills as soon as I got them, and they made me have terrible, gross burps. But I wasn’t going to give up that fast! I decided to open the caps (I took 3 a day) and tossed them into my vitamix blender to make super smoothies, after getting a heads up from Jen that going this route was kosher. Doing it this way forced me to make myself (or have my husband make me) super healthy smoothies which is just what a new Mama needs anyway. While I was tossing in my placenta, I also dosed up on my superfoods – hemp, acai, chia, walnuts, fruits, and greens. I didn’t taste the placenta since I added frozen banana and dates to each smoothie, so the sweetness overwhelmed any possible aftertaste of the placenta pills. And voila – no more burps. It took maybe two days for me to feel fully energized, but I really did. This shit works, ladies. One might say it’s a placebo effect, but I don’t care if it is. I felt zero baby blues and got on with the show, as was necessary with three children under the age of five. I still feel wonderful, five weeks later, and am only bummed I have one dose left in my pretty blue bottle. Who cares if I’m eating my insides? Milk is pouring out of me, my baby is growing like crazy, and I’m fully in the moment – not always easy in the first few months after birth. There’s definitively something to this and there’s no risk in trying it. It can certainly only help, and if you have other kids at home and a busy life – it’s not worth risking being weighed down with the baby blues.
Here’s my placenta (I spared you a larger image size);
It was then turned into this;
One of my besties Melody said;
I encapsulated my placenta because I had such terrible baby blues with my first baby and I didn’t want to experience that again the second time around. I felt like I wasn’t able to truly enjoy the newborn phase with him because I was so hormonal. Consuming my placenta after my second baby was a life changer. It was as though that dark heavy cloud disappeared. I had about half a day where I was sad and I just upped my dosage of pills. I was happier, which was good for everyone in my house and I was able to enjoy and savor my second baby more. I also bled less and feel like my milk came in faster too.
Jen offers placenta 3 ways;
Traditional Preparation Method is inspired by Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and follows the traditional preparation of lightly steaming the placenta before dehydration. The placenta is steamed with lemon, ginger and jalapeno pepper to move Qi, warm the body and aid digestion. According to TCM theory it is important to keep the mom’s body warm after birth, and moms report a building of energy that increases with time and duration of pills consumed.
The Raw Dehydration Method follows the principles of a raw food diet. Moms who take raw pills have experienced high bursts of energy, with almost immediate effects. Following FDA recommendations for food preparation, it is my policy to dehydrate raw placenta at 165 degrees. After the placenta has reached 165 degrees, the temperature may be dropped to 145 degrees.
Placenta Tincture is a remedy that will last you a lifetime. A small piece of placenta is placed in a bottle filled with grain alcohol. After a period of 6 weeks, the alcohol is infused with the essence and energetic vibration of the placenta. At this time the tincture is finished and may be decanted into a separate container. Many women choose to save the tincture to help with menopause symptoms later in life.
To find someone locally to prepare your placenta, contact your local midwife or doula. We highly recommend Brooklyn Placenta Services in New York.