When I was pregnant with my first child, I experienced many new and strange things.
Of course there was the usual strangeness of my body transforming as a small human took form inside of me. Fluctuating hormones had me craving bone broth and raw butter – two new foods for me at the time. Then the kicking and rolling and hiccups began as the little one grew. Midwives, birth plans, strollers, diapers, slings, and perineal massage all brought their own novelties and wonder.
Then there was the the idea of eating my placenta. As a practitioner of Chinese medicine, I didn't find the idea of eating your placenta as foreign as you might imagine. In Chinese ‘herbal' medicine, human placenta or “zi he che” was first recorded for medicinal use in 741 A.D. and has been used through the centuries to treat infertility, postpartum weakness, hormone imbalance, insufficient lactation, congenital deficiencies, and recovery from chronic illness. (source)
But still, the idea of eating my own placenta? I wasn't so sure.
What is a placenta, anyway?
The placenta is an organ that begins to form at conception in a woman's uterus and connects to baby via the umbilical cord. The placenta serves to deliver nutrition, exchange blood supply, and share immunity between a mother's body and the fetus.
“The composition of [placenta] is extremely complex. The main components include protein, amino acids, enzymes, and hormones (HCG, prolactin, oxytocin, thyroid-stimulting hormone, and sex hormones” (Chen 917).
After a baby is born, the placenta (or after-birth) detaches from the mother's uterus and, with a few contractions, usually follows the baby out of the birth canal. In western hospital settings, placentas are typically incinerated. In some cultures, it is tradition to bury the placenta in the earth and plant a tree in its place. And then there's eating it…
The benefits of eating your placenta
Most mammals in nature consume their own placenta for replenishment of nutrients after birthing their young, and possibly for protection from predators or for pain relief compounds. While humans don't need to prevent themselves from becoming prey, the nutritional demands during the postpartum period are high, even for a well-nourished mother. Postpartum depression, fatigue, and low milk supply can come on fast and strong.
Reported benefits of consuming placenta include:
- Reduced postpartum bleeding
- Faster, more efficient healing
- More energy to care for new baby
- Prevention and treatment of postpartum depression and other emotional imbalances
- Healthy and strong skin, hair and nails
- Increases milk supply
While some experts claim that there is no reason for humans to consume their own placentas (source), more and more mothers today are opting to revive this ancient tradition in the name of postpartum wellness.
Sort of gross, no?
Well, actually, a placenta is a pretty beautiful thing. Symbolically it represents the bond between mother and child. And a healthy placenta is stunning too – deep red, purple and white intermeshed with a network of blood vessels. (I promise, internet snapshots do placentas no visual justice). But we're not talking about looks… what about eating one?
To be fair, there are plenty of foods that can seem disgusting taken out of context. I once dined at a raw vegan restaurant that included a long-winded anti-meat diatribe in their menu, demonizing eggs as the menstruation of birds. While this doesn't make much sense since birds simply do not menstruate, nonetheless, it still rocked my relationship to eggs for a brief time.
It stands to reason that the ick-factor is really all in perception, and luckily, a new mom need not sit down with a knife and fork with her raw placenta on a plate to benefit from its consumption…
How to prepare placenta
There are several preparations for placenta, each with it's own benefits and drawbacks:
Dried
Probably the most common and user-friendly way to consume placenta is through encapsulation, and there are two main methods used. In the Traditional Chinese Medicine method the organ is sliced, steamed with herbs, dehydrated, ground into powder, and packed into capsules (as pictured above with my first born's heart shaped umbilical cord). This preparation creates a ‘warming' and ‘tonifying' medicine that nourishes blood and restores energy.
Alternatively, the placenta is sliced and dried at a temperature not to exceed 118 degrees Fahrenheit. Some prefer the raw dehydration because all of the enzymes and nutrients are preserved with this method, and women who have consumed the raw capsules often report a rush of energy when taking them. Because of this, it is advised to take the raw placenta capsules at a low dosage – one per day in the morning if a mama is feeling weepy or low energy.
Even with the steamed method, it is advisable to start of with a small dose of placenta pills – no more than 1-3 capsules per day, possibly working up to 6 capsules throughout the day if necessary. After my first birth, I did not heed this warning, swallowed about twelve caps in one day, proceeded to have an emotional meltdown (like this woman) and then refused to take any more. But after my second birth, I cautiously followed instructions and found that one pill up to three times per day helped me to feel emotionally stable as well as counteract the fatigue caused from birthing, nursing, and many mounting nights of staccato sleep.
Many midwives, doulas, and other birth practitioners offer placenta encapsulation as a service. While not free of charge, I highly recommend seeking out someone to do this for you, not only for their expertise, but also because the last thing a new mom needs to do is stand in the kitchen preparing her placenta.
Raw
Some believe that consuming placenta raw, soon after birth (like our other mammal friends), will yield the most benefits. Recently I had a patient who, despite her long-term commitment to a vegan diet, opted to drink raw placenta smoothies to prevent the severe postpartum depression she experienced after her first pregnancy. Now with a six week old newborn, her energy and mood have been far better than this time around than with her first pregnancy. Her milk production is abundant, and the baby is thriving.
Apparently strong berry flavors and deep colors can go a long way in disguising the ‘meaty' component of a placenta smoothie and there are many recipes online if you choose to go this route to eat your placenta.
While I have some concern about the intensity of consuming the entire raw placenta in one go, still, I might opt for this preparation if I had lost a larger than normal amount of blood during labor, I had reason to suspect I may need super-powered postpartum support, or placenta encapsulation was not an affordable or practical option. Even so, it might be nice to also have some placenta capsules for that inevitable dip a month or so after baby is born.
Cooked
For those who cannot stomach the idea of raw organ meat, and encapsulation is not an option, incorporating the placenta into a meat dish is a third possibility. Awhile back, Mothering Magazine did an article on recipes ranging from Placenta Cocktail to Placenta lasagna or Pizza – you can find them here.
Beyond the capsules, smoothies, and food recipes, you can also have your placenta made into a tincture, essence, or homeopathic remedy as discussed at Placenta Apothocary.
Regardless of what you decide, be sure to let your birth team know in advance if you want to keep your placenta. Most hospitals will allow for this if you sign a waiver, but make sure someone (other than the birthing mom) is in charge of advocating for this choice when the time comes.
Would you consider eating your placenta, or have you done so? What was your experience?
Sources:
Chen, John K. and Tina T. Chen. Chinese Medical Herbology & Pharmacology. Art of Medicine Press, City of Industry, CA: 2004.
PlacentaApothocary.com
Mothering Magazine, September 1983, Vol. 28, pg 76
Why Eat Placenta? BBC News.com
I did! And can’t say anything other then… It was great! Helped me have sustainable energy. 🙂
I had some in a smoothie right away and then pills dehydrated at a low temperature so it effectively stayed raw. I felt so good! I also did not experience any baby blues as I had with my first baby. scientists can deny it, but the organ that fed my baby made a huge difference for me.
I had my placenta encapsulated with my second child and I noticed a huge difference! I waited to see how I would feel post partum and it was not until I had the last of my hormones dropping in the sixth week that I really felt the post partum blues. I started taking the capsules and felt much more grounded, not as overwhelmed and really able to take a deep breath and proceed with the round the clock newborn schedule. I also noticed a huge boost to my milk supply right when my son’s demands increased. After a day of taking capsules, I woke the next morning engorged! Whoa! I had been taking fenugreek, Mother’s Milk tea and nothing was doing it for me…but whoosh! the placenta totally made a difference : )
I had my daughter’s placenta encapsulated and am down to 1-2 pills a day eight weeks later. All I can say is that the claims are true! If I have another baby I will do it again. We basically had to smuggle the placenta out of the hospital room after the nurses told us we couldn’t take it and I’m so glad we did!
It did wonders for my post partm,i would do it again no question about it
I had mine freeze dried and encapsulated. I lost a lot of blood after the birth and the placenta pills helped me regain my strength, no doubt.
Currently taking mine and day 9pp I feel energised and loving it!
How do you go about finding a company/group that will do the encapsulating for you?
I wish I would have done this. In retrospect, I think it would have helped tremendously. I gave birth six weeks befire my husband was to take the state bar exam. He helped when he could, but studying was of the utmost priority. I felt like I was doing everything alone. I did get depressed, but as I look back on it, it wasn’t the usual kind of blues we sometimes get, it was just a funk from pure exhaustion. People would come over to “help” which meant they held the baby for an hour and cooed at her and then left. Not one person ever offered to let me sleep, or to make a meal, or to do some laundry. My husband came back from the bar exam and had to be hospitilized for kidney stones that required surgery. Now I was taking care of two babies! Still no one offered help. By 10 weeks post partum, I was a nut job. Everyone kept talking to me in a condescending voice telling me I should get help, when all I really needed was SLEEP!!
I never had another child because my memories of those first 3 months. Obviously, I lived through it but it still frustrates me that none of my mom friends reached out to me, let alone the grandmothers of my daughter. Someone recently told me that the first three months after birth were her most favorite time because her mom came and stayed for weeks at a time, so she was able to shower, nap and have the occasional full night’s sleep when her mom would take a shift with the baby.
I would have gladly tried the placenta method. It sure beats the method my doctor kept pushing: Prozac.
Thanks for sharing Susan – I wish it were a cultural norm that friends and family either came over to truly HELP a new mom or just sent food with a smile. Postpartum can be so overwhelming – in my experience placenta and acupuncture were life savers.
If you have a hospital birth are you allowed to take the placenta with you? How do you find someone to dry & encapsulate it for you? I ask becasue I will be high risk when I get pregnant due to age, weight, and numerous medical conditions so I think I have to have a hospital birth. I love the idea of the raw dehydration method.
HI Kathy – Talk to your birth team to find out what you need to do to take your placenta home from the hospital, and make sure someone other than you knows to take care of this directly after the birth. As for the encapsulation, where do you live?
@kathy- I had a hospital birth 4 weeks ago and was able to take my placenta. It depends on the hospital though so call your OB & the Maternity ward at the hospital to see if there are any formS you need to fill out. 🙂 Good Luck!
Thanks so much for posting this! As a student traditional midwife and a woman who has taken placenta and seen it completely transform me (previous PPD and long recoveries) post-birth, I say AMEN to placenta consumption. It’s so healing and natural.
@Kathy, As far as the question on hospital births, well, I doubt they’d “allow” that, even though you have every right to any and all parts of your body and you are the boss/consumer and should be in complete control of your decisions there…but it is likely a tough putt…go ahead, though, and be firm about your demands and offer to sign waivers. And, at the risk of being “nosy,” you may not be as high risk as you think, and should consult with a good homebirth midwife before throwing in the towel! Blessings to you!!
Thank you sooo much for this post! I had no idea about the value of ingesting the placenta, in NZ our indigenous culture buries it under a significant tree, which is a lovely tradition. That does mean that there are no problems taking your placenta home after the birth. So I just googled and there’s someone doing the encapsulation service in NZ too! wohoo!
Awesome post! Super stoked to have two different acquaintances who do placenta encapsulation and even more super stoked to be pregnant for the 1st time in 7 years! I will be taking my placenta FOR SURE.
I had my placenta capsulized after a hospital bitth. The nurse midwife gave me a doulas contact and she picked it up in a igloo. The pills were delivered back in 3 days in a beautiful jar with the heart shaped umbilical cord and directions. I was up and at it and felt better then ever after just a few weeks after my birth. My husband took them also. Apparently to some study, it increase the clarevoyant pschic connection between us and our child. I have recomended this experience to every mother I’ve met. Remember we are mamals and we should look to our animal spirit guides for advice during child bearing.
I have encapsulated my last 2 placentas on my own at home (total cost= $6!) after 2 unassisted births. I have never suffered from PPD, so my initial reasoning for doing it was just because I couldn’t bring myself to just “get rid” of my placenta, and didn’t care to plant it, and since I’d read that capsules can last for a VERY long time in the freezer, I decided I might as well. I did end up taking some for hormonal headaches and they really helped. I also tried some raw in a smoothie after my last birth but couldn’t stomach it. Otherwise, I still have about 200 capsules in my freezer for the future….menopause, maybe? 😉
I was able to convince my doctor to allow me to take home my placenta after my son was born. Lot of questions and raised eyebrows as to why I would want to do that, but in the end the hospital consented. I had to sign a form acknowledging the “release” of the remains. My husband and I completed the encapsulation process at home . I think our total cost was about $5.
Both my children were home birthed so I have both of my placentas. With our first child I planted hers under a peach tree in our yard. I’d read about encapsulation it just seemed overwhelming at the time to get it done. (we’re building a house as well.) with baby number two I still have her placenta in the freezer a year later. I know I am slacking. Can I still encapsulate now? I am having severe hair loss and acne despite my WAPF diet. My endocrinologist says all is well but I dont agree. I am tired. I just started taking standard process pituotrophin. i’d rather take something i grew. i am still nursing.
Hi Leah – My guess is that it would probably be fine if it was properly frozen – this site agrees: http://placentamom.weebly.com/faq.html.
If I were you, I would find a profession to assess the quality of your frozen placenta and to do it properly for you. You would probably benefit from taking it.
I also treat tons of moms in my acupuncture practice with similar postpartum symptoms – up to two years after birth. Acupuncture can be super effective, and much faster than you might imagine, so find an experienced acupuncturist near you to help get you back on track.
Thanks for getting back to me. we live rather remote from anyone in this field. my chiro does acupuncture and believe me i love it. i credit it with my amazing second birth. she however is stumped by me as well. so i’ll keep looking into this and a few other things. thanks again
I had my placenta encapsulated after the birth of my 2nd son (14 months ago)… I consumed the capsules and i do feel that they helped a lot with my emotional stability. Unfortunately they did not help with my milk supply, which struggled. I also had a tincture made. Would either the leftover capsules or the tincture help with my fertility as I embark on trying to conceive again. I’m an older mom and could use all the help I can get! What would you suggest as far as how often should I take the tincture and at what point in my cycle? Any advice would be very much appreciated. Thank you.
rachel, i have the exact same question. i had my placenta encapsulated and also a tincture made after my son’s birth 16 months ago. we want to try for another baby, but i still nurse my son 2-3 times a day (none at night) and have not gotten my period back. i don’t know if i’m ovulating or not, but have been trying to research ways to increase my fertility while continuing to breastfeed.
at the advice of the doula that encapsulated my placenta, i have been taking the tincture and pills for a few weeks, but still no indication of my cycle returning. did you ever get an answer to your question?
No I never did get an answer to my question! sorry i can’t help you with more information. good luck!
Wow. I WISH I knew about encapsulation (if it keeps the same beneficial properties). I tried eating some but the concept was really hard for me. I was exhausted and knew I needed it but I didnt eat enough of it. Plus, we had to FIGHT to get it from the hospital and then they quarantined it for a few days so I wasnt sure what they had done to it or if they had infected it. For some reason, I think the ick factor, I didnt eat it for my second child but both children have beautiful trees planted for them with their placentas and I cant wait to tell them about it when they get older. My husband is grossed out and amused. I definitely wish the culture was more supportive sooner so I could have eaten all of it. Thanks for running this thread.
I had the placenta from my second encapsulated – so glad I did it! I knew a few people who had done it but was really put off by the idea of doing it myself (so was my vegetarian husband!). But just after my wonderful peaceful water birth my midwife held up the placenta and said “wow – thats a gorgeous placenta – are you keeping it? I would!”. So I trawled the internet then and there and found a lovley lady who picked it up that evening and delivered it back the next day – all done. It kept me sane through a very rough first few weeks of awful feeding problems (undiagnosed tongue tie).
Our daughter is due any day, and just met with a practitioner last week who will do the encapsulation. She had severe morning sickness all of her pregnancy, requiring Zofran to be able to function (she is still in college.). A vitamin b6 deficiency is implicated in severe morning sickness. Has anyone here suffered this during pregnancy and avoided post-partum depression (also b6 deficiency related) with the placenta consumption? I would appreciate any anecdotal stories.
I am an acupuncturist and homebirthing mama. I had hyperemesis gravidarum (severe, unrelenting morning sickness)with both of my pregnancies for the full 9 months despite great prenatal nutrition, magnesium and B vitamin supplementation. For my first, I was able to avoid the hospital, despite vomiting all day long daily, with acupuncture. With the second pregnancy, I had a toddler to chase and could not lay around will needles the way I did the first time. Zofran became mandatory to protect me and my baby. I did placenta encapsulation myself each time with fantastic benefits. Post-partum bleeding stopped right away, I did not lose hair post-partum, I avoided post-partum depression and had a wonderful milk supply. I recommend this to patients and friends all the time although most think I’m crazy or kidding. Good luck.
Hi Gianina – Thanks so much for sharing your experience!
Interesting. I was offered my placenta in the hospital in Eugene, OR, but I didn’t know enough detail to have in encapsulated. I wonder though — hospitals are not clean places, and birth can be pretty grimy too. Is the placenta really clean enough to eat? Are you risking bacterial poisoning?
Hi Ann – I would have someone (like a doula or trusted family member) keep an eye out for the placenta so it is properly handled and stored.
http://placentabenefits.info
Didn’t see this website listed in any of the comments I read, but this is a great start for finding someone to encapsulate for you. I did it with the birth of my twin girls. To gauge how great I felt, I can say that I was ready to have more kids when my girls were 2 weeks old. My energy and mood was great, and I have had plenty of milk to breastfeed them for 9.5 months so far…and still going strong!
This will be the first time I will encapsulate my placenta but I have a question no one has been able to answer:
I’ve struggled with OVER-supply after the birth of my three children. I can’t do this if it’s going to contribute to my over-supply. However, no one has an answer. My assumption is that it regulates hormones so it can help prevent low supply and over-supply, correct? If anyone can help me out with this, let me know.
If I don’t get an answer by the time I’m due in three months, I will do and wait to take them until after my supply has establish. I do have a chronic illness and would love to see if it helps with that.
Could someone please tell me how the placenta should be properly contained after birth?
I was told by my hospital that it’s usually put in a preserving chemical and then shipped off to pathology. If I want to take my placenta home to consume, they told me that they will put it in saline instead and then shipped to pathology. I would then request to take it home from the pathology department. It makes me nervous with the saline and so many people handling it.
What did you women do?
After the placenta comes out do you just put it in Tupperware and then store it on some ice in a cooler or something?
I didn’t tell my hospital I was going to encapsulate it, but I just requested to take it home…let me tell you how I felt laying there on the operating table and having them ask me, “Oh are you planting it under a tree?” to which I reply “Yes” because nothing is getting in the way of me and my placenta!! My life was in their hands and I am straight up lying to them. And forgot to tell my husband this part. So when he comes into the OR, I say, “Honey, won’t it be so cool to plant the placenta’s under a tree” and he looked totally confused and then agreed. Anyways, we brought one of those cheap styrafoam coolers and the hospital put it on ice for us right away. They didn’t do anything to do. We had a friend waiting in the waiting room for us to drive it to our house and put it in the fridge until the encapsulation person came later that night to take care of it. I think the hospital put it in plastic bags. I never saw it. Oh ya, and our friend who drove it home made sure the placenta had good music to listen to on the drive 🙂 Hope this helps. I’m so all for encapsulation!!!!
Natalie, in answer to your question about over supply, I can tell you about my experience. I suffer from terrible engorgement and wondered whether consuming my placenta following the birth (13 days ago) of my third child would help balance it out and reduce engorgement. For me, this did not happen. My milk came in by the end of day 1 and the engorgement was as severe as it was with my previous 2 births. Lots of hand expressing, inbuprofen, savoy cabbage leaves, freezable gel breast pads, and encouraging baby to feed (as well as the support of a good breastfeeding councillor and a lovely husband) was what got me through. It took a week to fully settle down but now all is fine. I really sympathise with you and can understand your desire to find something which will help with over supply. Keep strong, the placenta pills should help with your mood at least, and help balance your state of mind (much needed when your breasts feel like bricks, are agonising and are 10 times their normal size!). Lots of luck with it all and remember its only temporary. X
Hi
Did you eat all of your placenta capsules immediately after birth and if not, how long did you store them for?
The lady who did my encapsulation gave me a guideline of 2 pills 3x a day for 2 weeks, and then 2 pills 2x a day for 4 weeks I think, and then 2 pills 1x day until I felt like I didn’t need them anymore. They are stored in my freezer and now known as my “happy pills” for when I”m having a hard day hormonally.
I am due in January and am so glad I read this article! Anyone know of a reputable person who will encapsulate in the DFW, Texas area?
My last baby is now 4 1/2 and the placenta is still in the freezer. We always buried them under a tree. I would like to encapsulate it after reading this. I am 40 and having some cycle irregularities and such. Wondering if this will help. So my question is do you think the placenta is safe to consume?
Hi Sarah – Thanks for your question. I would recommend talking to a person who encapsulates placenta professionally to find out what they think.
@sarah I encapsulate placentas! If frozen correctly (in a proper temperature and it doesn’t get freezer burn) the placenta retains it’s nutrients quite well for about 6 months, but I’ve heard of frozen placentas being used at the 1 year mark. Just know that the longer it sits frozen, the less potent it will be.
Also, if you have it dehydrated you can make a tincture out of it (2oz vodka, 6oz water and 1tsp placenta powder) and use it a drop at a time to help with hormonal fluctuations. It can last you a lot longer this way and it’s said to become more potent the longer it sits.
I was wondering if you have ever heard of taking placenta capsules during pregNancy or if you think it would be beneficial or detrimental.. I have some left from my previous pregnancy and wonder if it would be a good idea to take them.
Thanks!!
Sorry if I’m kinda stepping in uninvited here…
While I can’t find any studies for or against this, I do not recommend that placenta pills or tinctures be taken when pregnant. Your body is working day and night to keep a beautiful orchestra of hormones in balance and adding some placenta therapy may upset that. Best be safe.
VitalMama -Placenta Encapsulator
Can you encapsulate the placenta if you’ve chosen to have a lotus birth? Curious, cos that’s what I’m going for for my future babies. 🙂
Hey Rhiannon, I am actually not sure about this – if you find out, be sure to share the answer with us. I’d be interested to know!