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3rd Trimester
MidwestSeashell
member
Has anyone eaten their placenta?
MidwestSeashell
member
Hey mamas...looking for any personal experiences of eating your placenta after birth. I probably don't need to specify after birth as it would be pretty freaking hard to do it before 
If you have, how did you do it? Raw smoothie? Cooked? Placenta encapsulation?
How did it make you feel?
If you had previous pregnancies where you didn't consume the placenta, could you tell a diff in your recovery after eating it?
Thank ya kindly!
This discussion has been closed.
Re: Has anyone eaten their placenta?
I am interested in doing it, but not sure I can swing the extra cost (I'd want to encapsulate).
Looking forward to hearing others' experiences!
All this. I already have my lady setup to come by the hospital and take it home to encapsulate. She only charges $135, which is great IMO as it makes anywhere from 100-200 pills. I just have to make sure the dr puts it in a sealed plastic container, then DH has to have a cooler w/ice to keep it in until our lady arrives to take it. So I will never even see it until it's in pill form. I have heard amazing things about the process. I could never ingest it in a smoothie or anything like that, just too queasy... but am super excited to try the pills!
F that. I don't care if it could give me super powers, no freakin way.
This. Nasty!
WHAT. THE. HELL???
sorry, not to offend anyone but that is probably the nastiest thing i've ever heard of.
I never will eat my Placenta.
What is so nasty about eating a pill?? Cuz that's what it is going to turn into. Just a regular looking pill.
No offense, but where have you been over the last few years? LOL. This has become a majorly big topic of discussion in recent years, and with the rate of midwife vs doctor debates, it's been put out there in the spotlight even more recently.
Basically, you can eat the placenta to help ward off PPD/PPA and hormonal issues. The concept is that it happens in nature, is natural, and can't hurt.
https://vivantemidwifery.com/placenta.html
https://www.triedtastedserved.com/raw-food-pregnancy/eating-placenta.php
https://placentabenefits.info/
I have not and will not. I have looked at it both times after birth and it didn't look bad at all to me. Not that it looked yummy to eat or anything, but not turn my stomach gross.
Aren't we the only mammals that don't eat it? Or something like a small percentage?
I'm just curious. Are there any peer-reviewed medical or scientific studies with proof that this is beneficial? Sorry, but I don't consider a midwife website an official source. Or any of these websites. Not flaming. I just seriously want to know if you have any valid sources.
Oh jeez. C'mon people, let's get some sense.
Animals eat their placenta to get rid of it so they won't be smelled/found by predators. There is no solid scientific proof that it prevents PPD or is beneficial is any way. Plus...YUCK.
Do what you want, but I think it's batshit crazy.
Nope, you're quite right to question. There is very little study of the practice by scientists and NO empirical evidence tht it is beneficial in any way.
I guess placenta has other roles as well, such as delivering nutrients to the foetus in a way it can absorb them.
Finally, eating your own body parts? Selfcannibalism, they call it. Maybe you're all right and I'm totally wrong, but it freaks me out.
Um, I remember WAY back in college as a bio major (at least 10 years for me!) I did remember learning about women eating placenta, but they did that because they did not have enough nutrients in the food (ie poor, in third world countries, not enough access to food, etc). I can see in that situation eating the placenta.
Honestly, I've never even heard of people seriously doing it in this country until this thread! So yeah, I would have to agree with others on the NO WAY response. To each their own! I would like to know however to those who do plan on eating it if you do or do not get PPD - I hope none of you do, but it would be an interesting nonscientific experiment on TheBump, no?
I have a doula friend who does encapsulation. But I didn't have PPD the first time around, just some issues with my milk supply. I am thinking about taking it home to freeze incase I do feel like I need it, but right now I can't justify the expense. Although I'm sure DH or my mom wouldn't be terribly supportive, and I would need one of them to take it home for me while I'm stuck in the hospital.
Yes, most mammals do eat theirs even if they are normally vegetarian. It;s just a theory that they do it to avoid predators. But if you consider that lots of animals are very mobile immediately after birth, you would think it would make sense to leave the placenta there as a diversion and just move to a different area.Placentas are full of hormones, and so can help with PPD and milk production. Placenta has also been a part of traditional chinese medicine for thousands of years.
this I agreee omg I couldnt do it
This is my exact thought. I feel very nauseated after reading this, I thought it was a joke. No way in He** would I EAT my placenta... have you SEEN your placenta after birth?? Sorry just not for me!!
:runs to the bathroom to vomit:
I can't....No way... Holy eff.
DD 12/20/99, DS 12/14/12, M/C 9/2014, M/C 1/2015
TTC #2 Since October 2013. Annovulatory so not expecting much! Waited to finish breastfeeding before using Clomid again. August 2014: Clomid round 3 (50 mg) and progesterone (100mg) - BFP!
Right, which is why I linked what I did. They cover the information that is thrown around right now. I haven't found scientific stuff that proves any of their points. I *personally* think it's more of a fix-all wanna be thing, but I haven't done it, I don't know anyone who has, and so I honestly don't want to speak out against it because I have no experience in the matter. Just trying to relay the more positive info I've seen/been shared with me because I know that there are a lot of negative things being said about it, and I feel like people deserve to hear both sides.
And for what it's worth, midwives are licensed nurses, so take that for what you consider it's worth. lol (And, if they aren't, they aren't licensed midwives and you probably shouldn't be using one!
)
For me take allllll the NO WAY versions and place them here.
Nasty.
thanks to everyone who offered constructive responses
as someone mentioned, it has been used in traditional chinese medicine for thousands of years. not just human placenta, but the placentas of other animals as well.
now i'm curious is the folks that are grossed out by it are grossed out by eating the organs or tissues of other animals...i mean, you can go to a fancy resaurant and order duck livers (from ducks that have been fed a specific diet to make their livers "buttery") and that's culturally acceptable...just a random thought..
i'd be way more grossed out by any meat product from a drive through than i would from my own placenta..
anyway, not looking to get into an argument of whether it's right or wrong (although it's interesting that it seems to polarize folks as dramatically as it has). More looking for experiences.
You can pick your friends and you can eat your placenta but your can't eat your friend's placenta...right?
There is a difference between eating animal meat and eating part of your own body.
As for the placenta, I read about it because I was curious. There is no scientific evidence that any of the nutrients or supposed benefits are actually passed on to the mother when she consumes the placenta. Animals in the wild do it, yes, but they also eat their own feces and occasionally even their young. To each their own, I suppose. Personally I find the thought pretty gross because it's a human organ, and I don't think humans should be eating human organs.
FWIW: https://parenting.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/03/25/i-regret-eating-my-placenta/
My sentiments exactly.
I am having someone do the encapsulation. I would prefer not to see it, lol.
It costs $200 and I struggled with some baby blues last time and want to avoid any issues if possible. I have read nothing but wonderful things about it and experiences from people.
Good luck with your decision!!
Natural M/c 12/13/08 at 8w5d
More Green For Less Green