Hi everyone. My name is Tanner. I’m new here at MAP. I’m a wife to a wonderful man who is so hardworking and loves Jesus more than I could describe and a momma to two beautiful boys aged 2 and 2 1/2 weeks. I love Jesus and I’m super excited to be here!
Placentophagy, the eating of your placenta. In the group of mainstream people I am surrounded by, placenta consumption is quite taboo and the looks I get when I tell people about it make me chuckle every time.
I had never heard anything about people consuming their placentas until I was pregnant with my oldest. I spent my entire pregnancy researching it and was determined to be one of those weirdo mamas who ate theirs.
Well, after getting transferred to a hospital from the birth center I was at and accidentally leaving my placenta at the hospital, those plans went out the window. I knew this most recent time around I wanted to make sure I was able to and was so blessed to have a midwife who knew how strongly I wanted to have mine put into pills and I received them two days postpartum.
Ways to Consume Your Placenta
There are several ways to consume your placenta. I chose placental encapsulation. According to American Pregnancy, placental encapsulation is the practice of ingesting the placenta after it has been steamed, dehydrated, ground, and placed into pills. Most women choose to consume theirs soon after birth but it can be taken anytime postpartum and even during menopause.
Placenta smoothies are another common way to consume your placenta. To make a placenta smoothie, simply blend a small piece of placenta into a fruit smoothie and drink. Most recommend a berry flavored smoothie to hid any extra taste or color from the placenta.
I couldn’t quite stomach that just yet (maybe next time!) so the placenta pills were a great compromise for me. I was told by my midwife it’s very much also a cultural experience and she’s seen many moms of different religious and ethnic backgrounds consuming their placentas in a variety of ways… Some cut a piece off and made it into sushi, some bite right into it, some make a soup, and a variety of other ways.
The Benefits
Placenta consumption has so many benefits for mom and baby. It can help bring in momma’s milk, which is great for a good nursing relationship between baby and mommy. If you choose to consume your placenta or at least part of it immediately after childbirth, your chance of postpartum hemorrhage drastically decreases. Your chance of true postpartum depression decreases significantly too. Your postpartum healing will most likely take much less time when consuming your placenta.
My bleeding has already stopped where it took well over a month with my first child. Not only does placentophagy help with your direct postpartum time, it is said to help women have a much smoother transition into menopause as well as help with having normal, less painful menstruation (of course if you have any of your placenta left by the time you start menstruating again).
I’m so grateful I decided to stick to my guns and encapsulate mine this time. I suffered with pretty bad postpartum depression the first time around and I had a lot of milk supply issues. I also bled for almost 6 weeks after my first baby.
This time around, I am happy as a clam with engorged, milk filled boobies and I’m already done bleeding at 2 1/2 weeks postpartum. I feel much better all around this time, but my emotional state is a complete 180 than it was at this time postpartum with my first.
I know it’s the pills making me feel this way without a doubt, because I forgot to take one on Christmas Day and I noticed such a difference in how weepy I was. I was anxious on Christmas and I was crying at the drop of a hat which I haven’t felt like once while taking the pills.
Placenta Consumption`
We are the only mammals on Earth who do not consume our afterbirth by nature. All other mammals must do so for a reason. It definitely is to prevent predators finding their young but I believe our God made us perfect and provided us with a completely natural cure to some of the ailments our postpartum life brings.
Maybe mammals know something we don’t in consuming their placentas? And maybe that’s why we don’t see them having problems nourishing their young or them bleeding for weeks and weeks after delivery.
As I stated, I am a true believer in this crazy fad of consuming our placentas. I have heard from some others who have consumed theirs, that it has heightened their postpartum emotions and didn’t help with the “baby blues”. I’m sure that may be true, but for me, these placenta pills are working wonders.
I was planning for a recovery similar to the one I had with my first and I’m just so far off from that, that I want to scream it from the rooftops for all to hear that this works. Placenta consumption, no matter how bizarre and disgusting it seems to some people, truly works. And truthfully, I am so thankful for that.
Great article, Tanner. I wish I had done this when my children were born. Placentophagy was not a hot topic when I gave birth (7 and almost 5 years ago). I didn’t even know about this. I’m glad there are more and more women in the world today trying to educate and help others. Hopefully many Mama-to-be’s will be inspired by your blog and choose to experience such a wonderful thing. XO
That’s 2 clever by half and 2×2 clever 4 me. Thansk!