Afterbirth: It's What's For Dinner

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Some practitioners believe that consuming the placenta after birth prevents postpartum depression and encourages milk production in new mothers.

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A VERY funny article by a new father dealing with his wife's belief in eating her placenta afterbirth.

http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1908194,00.html

I had no idea you could hire a placenta chef to come over and cook the afterbirth and then put it in pill form for the mother. Professionally they are called a Placenta Encapsulation Specialist.

A must see vidio how it's done. Filmed by the father, it's a real hoot.

http://www.time.com/time/video?bcpid=14836775001&bctid=27457107001

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wow. I don't know that I could do that after watching the video!

Very very interesting though- thanks for the post!

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Specializes in med/surg, ER, camp nursing.

hilarious! thanks for sharing!

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Specializes in psych, addictions, hospice, education.

Eating placenta is a common practice in some cultures (can't remember which ones though). I sure that's where this idea came from!

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Specializes in Education, FP, LNC, Forensics, ED, OB.

Here is another thread about this: https://allnurses.com/general-nursing-discussion/have-you-ever-237363.html

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Specializes in ICU, Telemetry.

I'm really showing my age, but Saturday Night Live, back in the first season, had a skit on "placenta helper." I was a kid, and used to sneak into the den to watch it after everyone else had gone to bed....

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Specializes in Community, OB, Nursery.

As I've said before many times, I don't know that I could eat it, but in countries where there is not a ready supply of protein- and iron-rich food, it's not a bad way to restore your iron stores postpartum.

Some homebirth midwives, I've heard, have mom eat raw chunks of placenta to help stop postpartum hemorrhage.

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Some homebirth midwives, I've heard, have mom eat raw chunks of placenta to help stop postpartum hemorrhage.

There are recipes online that I have seen. I'm not knocking it -- there might even be something to it. But I have to say, you lost me at "raw." :barf01:

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Specializes in med/surg, psych, public health.

okaaaay, i agree there could be some truth to it all, but after watching that....

please excuse me while i use my brain bleach! brainbleach.gif

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hmm, also just wondering how the placenta lady advertises and how one gets into that particular profession?!

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I read that one of the reasons animals may eat their placenta is to eliminate any clues to preditors that vulnerable newborns are in the area. How smart is that. :paw::paw::paw:

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i kind of joked with my wife that we were going to eat hers...then i saw the damn thing. no thanks! :nono:

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Specializes in Community, OB, Nursery.

I hear it tastes pretty much like hamburger.

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