Sent in by Cynthia.
“My son Joseph was born May 7th, 2011- and after a slight battle with the hospital, I was able to keep my placenta. Didn’t know why I wanted it, just knew I did and I would figure it all out later. I froze our placenta and honestly, pretty much forgot about it. Around 11 months post partum I started feeling like I was “falling apart”. I couldn’t calm myself and had some anxiety issues.
Out of the blue, my doula called and said “Hey, so I was thinking we really should encapsulate your placenta!” After a mess of tears and counsel, I was convinced it wasn’t too late and I could still reap the benefits. I was SO GRATEFUL. Not to mention, excited! I did it all by myself with my doula as a guide and a source of encouragement. I was so proud. Empowered! It was one of the best experiences of my life.
It felt empowering, because I didn’t have to ask a doctor to find a prescription, or a therapist, to help me. I had what God, my body, and my baby provided! I couldn’t believe I was able to create these amazing pills myself. Maybe that’s naive, but it’s not something I had ever seen in my life- the freedom to use one of my own organs to help myself! It even sounds amazing! Thank goodness I saved my placenta!! I felt a difference after a few weeks of taking the pills. I could TRUST my body. MYSELF. That’s pretty powerful and cool.”
Recommended Reading
Overcoming Placenta Previa, NICU, & Hospital Policies to Birth a Beautiful, Healthy Baby Boy
Tree of Life, Vernix, and a Bubble of Support
From Braxton Hicks to Immediate Transition: Backseat Car Birth of Kenan John!- The Tree of Life aka the Naked Placenta
The Birth Story of Violet Marie – Part 2
Natural Breech Birth at Home
Birth Of Elsie {Homebirth Story With Siblings}- The Birth of Sicily Rose {Postpartum Hemorrhage, Vanishing Twin Syndrome}
- An Inspiring Natural {Hospital} Birth
The Birth Story {PART 2}
15 Comments
Marisa
You go mama! Not many people I know would be brave enough to do that. So glad you’re feeling better!! Keep up the good work <3
Lisa
In New Zealand we are given the choice to keep the placenta or not. It is Maori tradition to bury the whenua, the maori word for placenta, which has a double meaning, it also means land or ground. The whenua is where the baby lives for nine months. So once the baby is born it is returned to the ground and you can choose a plant to plant over it, so that it can grow from the whenua. Thought I would share another culture 🙂 Great story by the way 🙂 Thanks for sharing.
Nicole
I’ve spent too much time on facebook because when I read this comment I looked for the ‘like’ button.
Jami
🙁 i was told my placenta was too old around 9 months. I wish i had known that it wasn’t too late
Loren
Thank you for sharing this perspective! I will be encapsulating too but it hadn’t occurred to me to SAVE them for when I actually felt the blues. I was just gonna start taking them immediately! Thank you for your candor.
Christine J
As a new encapsulation specialist I LOVED reading this story!!! I will most certainly pass this along to future clients!! Thanks for sharing.
Melinda
How do you encapsulate it yourself? I still have mine in the freezer, am really contemplating it. 🙂
gilliebean
Mine is still in the freezer too. My babe will be three months old in four days. It feels weird to me to consume my own organ. But it seems the benefits are too obvious!!
tonia
I was told that, at 4 months postpartum, my placenta was no longer usable. Please tell me I’m wrong. It’s in a regular freezer not a deep freezer, is that why perhaps?
Erica W
I’d also like to know how to encapsulate my own placenta… we have to pay for our homebirth (insurance won’t cover it at all) & there is absolutely no money left for anything else…. I’d love to be able to reap the benefits of encapsulation still though.
Kristen
What evidence is there that eating your placenta does anything beneficial?
Nike
Kristen, this website offers a basic breakdown of the benefits of placenta encapsulation as well as the research behind it http://www.placentabakery.com/#!research
The placenta is nutrient packed which helps replace and/or boost vitamins lost in delivery as well as help balance out your hormones.
Gloria Moore
Hello! What a beautiful story! Thank you for sharing. For those who have asked: Encapsulating placenta is not as hard as you think 🙂 The placenta needs to be dehydrated. (Yes, in the same one you make fruit leathers out of!) After it has been completely dehydrated, pulse it in a food processor until you get a fine powder, it is at this point you can encapsulate it. Simple as that! (I prefer vegetarian capsules. They’re not made out of animal guts!) Blessings! http://www.ebay.com/itm/100-Vegetable-100-Vegetarian-KOSHER-Natural-Healthier-Pills-Empty-Capsules-0-/260965390983?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3cc2bfda87
Meghan
My Midwife encapsulated mine. I haven’t had the same results yet, it seems to make me more emotional so I am going to wait another week or two to start taking it again. This is how she prepared it:
Cut umbilical cord and membranes off, drain as many veins as possible, remove any calcium deposits (look like small rocks), chop up, steam with ginger and murh, then dehydrate for 10 hrs, grind up in coffee grinder and put into capsules. Can take 1-2 pills twice a day for first 5 days, then 1-2 once a day from then on. It was hard for me to choke them down cause I kept thinking about it lol, they also made me burp and you can taste placenta, not delicious! I am still going to start taking them again because I believe they will benefit me, and I paid a lot to have it done!!
Hillary
My midwife will bring mine back in a few days – just had my little girl yesterday 🙂 I’m going to save some of the pills for if/when I get pregnant again. I’m hoping they may help with the migraines I get during the first few months of pregnancy. I have not heard of anyone using it for migraines before but I’m hopeful.