placenta encapsulation

sparkledonuts · February 2016

I am sure this is a touchy subject so if you have something negative to say please keep it to yourself! I was wondering if anyone has done this in a previous pregnancy .. what were your results or if you plan to do it this pregnancy? I have been doing research and there is actually someone in the area who does it and would have capsules back within 48 hours .. I have a lot of medical issues so I am wondering how beneficial it would be .. also has anyone done the delayed cord clamping ?? Thanks:)

jenashawn · February 2016

I haven't done either, cause I'm a FTM, but I'm planning on asking them to delay the cord clamping based on things I've read. A friend of mine had them delay at the same hospital and it wasn't an issue.

sarawifenow · February 2016

sparkledonuts said:

I am sure this is a touchy subject so if you have something negative to say please keep it to yourself! I was wondering if anyone has done this in a previous pregnancy .. what were your results or if you plan to do it this pregnancy? I have been doing research and there is actually someone in the area who does it and would have capsules back within 48 hours .. I have a lot of medical issues so I am wondering how beneficial it would be .. also has anyone done the delayed cord clamping ?? Thanks:)

1.) You can't decide how people respond on your thread. Sorry.

2.) I have not done this, but I have heard that a lot of the "benefits" of the placenta are stripped once it is put into capsule form, so I don't think it is worth it at all.

mrstmoose · February 2016

It's public, you can't dictate how people will respond to you.

But no, we are not going to do it.

sarawifenow · February 2016

Also, there was a very lengthy discussion on this on the 2nd tri board not too long ago. You might find some helpful information there. https://forums.thebump.com/discussion/12649244/anyone-thinking-of-saving-your-placenta#latest

Knottie1433777995 · February 2016

We aren't saving the placenta, but we are absolutely delaying the cord clamping

kbrands7 · February 2016

Most hospitals will do delayed cord clamping either automatically, or if you ask. It will help to bolster baby's iron stores (though it may also cause temporary jaundice).

If you choose to do placenta encapsulation, be sure that your hospital is on board, my understanding is that they need to sign over the placenta and some won't. Also, the benefits are highly debated, as is the purity/cleanliness of the process since it's not well-regulated. In the past, I looked into it out of curiosity, but when I read more about the process, it turned me off. Continuing to take prenatals post birth and through breastfeeding worked just fine.

sparkledonuts · February 2016

I was just making a statement because I know there are people out there .. I always feel like if I'm not going to benefit a conversation or if it's not something I'm in too I don't feel the need to respond so was just asking for the same respect that's all but I know people will say what they want to say! As far as the delayed cord clamping about how long is it normally ? I've read anywhere from 30 min to 3 to 4 hours ? It is so hard researching things on the internet because everything you read is different and you don't know what it true and what it isn't so I do like to get personal experience if it has been done and if you felt like it was beneficial. Thanks so much for the responses so far !

araecasey · February 2016

Even though delayed cord clamping is becoming standard, it doesn't hurt to have it listed on your birth preferences. Even though it was on mine and my midwife and I heartily agreed on it, DD's cord was clamped and cut within 30 seconds of being born. I'm still peeved about it.

I had a similar thought process about placenta encapsulation as @kbrands7 . It's not for me until it's well researched and its benefits documented ad nauseam. I did struggle with postpartum anxiety for several months after DD's birth, but I feel pretty strongly that has a lot more to do with my mental health predispositions and the medical craziness that followed giving birth. I'm not confident that taking my placenta would have kept PPA from happening.

LadySamLady · February 2016

I will not be encapsulating my placenta but we are definitely doing delayed cord clamping. I believe it is more like 60 seconds on average. Just enough time to let the blood from the placenta flow back to the baby which happens after pulsation stops or the placenta is delivered. Keep in mind that delayed cord clamping is not possible if you plan on banking the cord blood.

sparkledonuts · February 2016

Thanks! I know there's not a lot of research so it's hard to see if it's beneficial because you don't know who is making a real testimony over what is fake and this is def helping me make my decision

kbrands7 · February 2016

@sparkledonuts For delayed cutting, you cut once the cord stops pulsating, which is usually within 3-5min.

sarawifenow · February 2016

So now I need to read up on delayed cord clamping, because I have no idea what it is! Someone care to fill me in?

araecasey · February 2016

@sarawifenow The placenta continues to pump blood back to the baby even after baby is born. Usually a large portion of the baby's blood is left in the placenta if the cord is immediately cut. Delayed clamping is preferable to immediate clamping, especially for nursing babies, so that baby can have all the benefits of having all of their blood, such as having plentiful iron stores and receiving their own stem cells in case of birth trauma. And in case you were looking into cord blood banking, despite what cord blood banks advertise, delayed clamping is NOT compatible with cord blood banking.

sarawifenow · February 2016

araecasey said:

@sarawifenow The placenta continues to pump blood back to the baby even after baby is born. Usually a large portion of the baby's blood is left in the placenta if the cord is immediately cut. Delayed clamping is preferable to immediate clamping, especially for nursing babies, so that baby can have all the benefits of having all of their blood, such as having plentiful iron stores and receiving their own stem cells in case of birth trauma. And in case you were looking into cord blood banking, despite what cord blood banks advertise, delayed clamping is NOT compatible with cord blood banking.

Hey thanks, @araecasey!

nerdymama15 · February 2016

My DH likes to freak me out/gross me out by Googling placenta recipes...... apparently in some parts of the world they eat the placenta.

Bltbear82 · February 2016

@nerdymama15 my friend had her
placenta in a smoothie her doula prepared for her. I was eating while she recounted the recipe and gagged a little.

dshannah · February 2016

Fun random fact: In Latin, "placenta" is the word for "cake." Like the ones you eat for dessert. It literally means "pleasing things."

The dictionaries all say it's because the shape of the placenta mirrors the types of cakes Romans would eat, but I don't think it's entirely out of the realm of possibility that some folks actually thought it tasted good.

I've never known anyone who's eaten their own placenta, but I've known three or four ladies who have used it to plant a tree. Very good fertilizer, apparently, and it's a cute idea that the tree grows alongside the child...

Sorry, OP, don't know anything about encapsulation! But it sounds like PP have you covered there.

and_peggy · February 2016

Definitely not interested in even looking at the placenta, let alone consuming it in any form. But absolutely want to do delayed cord clamping. My doctor told me that even those last pulses can account for up to 40% of the blood volume of the baby. Totally on board there, but that's probably as granola as I will get.

mumbolino · February 2016

In German, they even call it "Mutterkuchen"... Mother's cake!

Bon appetit, everyone :-) (I'll pass... But I'm all in with delayed cord clamping, if that's an option for me)

lalala2004 · February 2016

sparkledonuts said:

Thanks! I know there's not a lot of research so it's hard to see if it's beneficial because you don't know who is making a real testimony over what is fake and this is def helping me make my decision

Testimonies only go so far because of the placebo effect. I haven't seen enough research to convince me it's worth it, but it sure won't hurt anything, so no judgement from me.

Definitely want to do delayed cord clamping. I feel like the longest time I've heard is 15 minutes or so? I guess when it stops pulsing is pretty individual. I would think much past that is lotus birth territory.

araecasey · February 2016

dshannah said:

Fun random fact: In Latin, "placenta" is the word for "cake." Like the ones you eat for dessert. It literally means "pleasing things."

The dictionaries all say it's because the shape of the placenta mirrors the types of cakes Romans would eat, but I don't think it's entirely out of the realm of possibility that some folks actually thought it tasted good.

I've never known anyone who's eaten their own placenta, but I've known three or four ladies who have used it to plant a tree. Very good fertilizer, apparently, and it's a cute idea that the tree grows alongside the child...

Sorry, OP, don't know anything about encapsulation! But it sounds like PP have you covered there.

Now using it to plant a tree sounds awesome! If only my little slice of land didn't already have 13 fully grown trees.

And I'm all over looking at it. Placentas are crazy cool. The only organ made from both my DNA and my child's. The last physical tie between me and my itty baby. Have you gals seen the newborn pic going around of the baby still connected to her placenta, and the cord spells out love? That gets me every time. But I fully admit to my crunch.

mumbolino · February 2016

araecasey said:

dshannah said:

Fun random fact: In Latin, "placenta" is the word for "cake." Like the ones you eat for dessert. It literally means "pleasing things."

The dictionaries all say it's because the shape of the placenta mirrors the types of cakes Romans would eat, but I don't think it's entirely out of the realm of possibility that some folks actually thought it tasted good.

I've never known anyone who's eaten their own placenta, but I've known three or four ladies who have used it to plant a tree. Very good fertilizer, apparently, and it's a cute idea that the tree grows alongside the child...

Sorry, OP, don't know anything about encapsulation! But it sounds like PP have you covered there.

Now using it to plant a tree sounds awesome! If only my little slice of land didn't already have 13 fully grown trees.

And I'm all over looking at it. Placentas are crazy cool. The only organ made from both my DNA and my child's. The last physical tie between me and my itty baby. Have you gals seen the newborn pic going around of the baby still connected to her placenta, and the cord spells out love? That gets me every time. But I fully admit to my crunch.

AGREED! Placentas Rock! I hope I won't need a csection that might ruin delayed cord clamping and/ or entire placenta. Up for doing something funky with it, too. Just not quite up for the eating part :-) But I also like the idea of planting a tree on it :-)

jackiejacksnyc · February 2016

I'm having my placenta encapsulated as well as delayed clamping. I'm a ftm, so I can't speak from personal experience but I have heard both practices to be beneficial. To each his own obviously. Best of luck :]

sparkledonuts · February 2016

ok so actually just a few minutes for cord clamping ? I am def going to mention it my next appointment! yes I had no idea about lotus birth until a few days ago ! I am not sure how I feel about that I don't think I could handle looking at it for days lol

araecasey · February 2016

@sparkledonuts The exact time varies per birth, it's whenever your placenta decides to be done and the cord turns white and stops pulsing altogether. Ranges between 3 and 5 minutes on average.

JennyS86 · February 2016

I used to work in OB land, and I think placentas are really cool looking - beautiful even.

I will be requesting delayed cord clamping during my RCS.

placenta encapsulation is not for me. I am happy to take prenatals, vitamin D, and fish oil.

araecasey · February 2016

@JennyS86 Will your OB do DCC during a CS? I have placenta previa, and I'm bracing myself for an uphill battle for DCC should I need a CS.

JennyS86 · February 2016

araecasey said:

@JennyS86 Will your OB do DCC during a CS? I have placenta previa, and I'm bracing myself for an uphill battle for DCC should I need a CS.

I don't see why not! I will ask in a few weeks.

BlueJuice · February 2016

I did get my placenta encapsulated after my last birth. Unfortunately all the 'evidence' in support of the practice is heavily anecdotal, and that makes it somewhat suspect to me from a scientific perspective - on the other hand, I don't have any evidence to believe it would be harmful either, so when we weighed a small cost against potential, if unproven, benefits, we decided to give it a whirl. Encapsulation is a thoroughly innocuous way to ingest placenta, if that's a thing you want to do - it's in a gel capsule like any other supplement. It's possible there could be more benefit from ingesting it in a less processed format (like the smoothie someone earlier mentioned, or skilleted with onions or something), but that's way outside my comfort zone so I'm not going to give it a try.

I'm not sure whether I'll bother having it done again this time. I had a fine experience last time (no PPD, good recovery, etc), but I can't necessarily attribute that to the capsules, and the last thing I want to do a couple of days postpartum is process and dehydrate an organ, so I would have to hire someone else to do it again, and it might not be worth the cost for me this time.

JoMunson · February 2016

I'm a FTM too but I tried doing all the research I could on both subjects. We are choosing to delay cord clamping at least until the cord stops pulsating and baby has gotten all his blood.
Placenta encapsulation is tricky. There's very little (if any) true scientific evidence that it helps the mom with any post birth symptoms, and the anecdotal evidence is usually a few moms saying they found it helpful and the fact that meat eating animals in the wild eat their own placenta (although this is most likely due to wild animals not wanting to pass up a nutritious meal like an organ). I plan to consume my placenta in some way, but since I am vegan I probably won't take it home and cook it.
If placenta encapsulation/cooking it and eating it are not for you, there are TONS of ways to honor your child's placenta. A lot of native cultures think of it as the babies twin or older sibling. Maori people have the baby born with the placenta attached (no cord clamping until placenta is delivered) so they can have a ceremony, and many cultures plant a tree and fertilize it with the placenta to symbolize the new growth- the tree will always be the same age as your baby. You can also dry your placenta, which is really cool because the veins sometimes look like a giant tree.
...and then there's my mom, who had the home birth midwife throw my brothers placenta in the trash.

mumbolino · February 2016

araecasey said:

@JennyS86 Will your OB do DCC during a CS? I have placenta previa, and I'm bracing myself for an uphill battle for DCC should I need a CS.

Same here:-( and as part of it anterior they might have to cut through and everything would have to happen super fast etc so if that scenario unfolds there is no dcc I guess. But I'm going to keep hoping for the positive route with placenta intact and all :-) if they can get it out intact I guess it would still be an option? Will definitely ask about that at next appointment.

lalala2004 · February 2016

sparkledonuts said:

ok so actually just a few minutes for cord clamping ? I am def going to mention it my next appointment! yes I had no idea about lotus birth until a few days ago ! I am not sure how I feel about that I don't think I could handle looking at it for days lol

I can't imagine it would smell like a rose garden, either.

dsmith211 · February 2016

lalala2004 said:

sparkledonuts said:

ok so actually just a few minutes for cord clamping ? I am def going to mention it my next appointment! yes I had no idea about lotus birth until a few days ago ! I am not sure how I feel about that I don't think I could handle looking at it for days lol

I can't imagine it would smell like a rose garden, either.

Bleh. Definitely wasn't planning on doing this, but definitely not now. Thinking about the smell alone is making me nauseous. And if there's anyone here who is doing it or would... No offense to you at all. I just get squeamish with these types of things.

JoMunson · February 2016

Now that I've seen how they do lotus births I'm kind of thinkin about at least letting my baby stay attached until the placenta is born. I mean, it's part of him.

mumbolino · February 2016

A friend of mine lives in Bali, so in a hot / humid climate and she had a lotus birth (placenta was attached for 5 days I think?) I imagined it to be a weird, but you look after it and salt it and there were herbs and flowers on it..
I mean, it's not for me, but I don't think it was all that gross / smelly. It was the first time I'd heard about it.

TheThornBird · February 2016

Why not make a teddy bear out of it?

https://www.inhabitots.com/doing-it-for-the-kids-design-exhibition-placenta-teddy-bear/

Because keeping it around isn't creepy enough, you have to have your child sleep with it, too! They may even take it with them to college!

Chappy_jr · February 2016

I agree that placentas are super-cool (love the idea of planting with a tree) and I'm glad to see delayed cord-cutting becoming more common - there is a lot of scientific evidence for that practice. I was disappointed that I didn't even get to see my placenta during the first birth because of the c-section curtain. And I also think that my hospital's policy is to not release tissue so a PPs suggestion to check with your hospital's policy first is definitely a good thing to do if you decide to do something with the placenta.

If you believe it will be beneficial to eat it despite the lack of empirical evidence, go for it - whether encapsulation, smoothies, or sashimi style - I haven't seen any empirical evidence that it could be harmful as long as basic sanitation measures are taken and I'm sure the person who prepares it can give you those details. The placebo effect is powerful and that's not mean to be judgy; it really is powerful. I considered it when I first heard about it because I am just curious - or maybe because I was majorly craving sashimi during my last pregnancy.

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