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Discussion

Eating Placenta????

Ok, this has come up in the news recently so I thought I would bring it up here. There are even recipes on the internet and videos on You Tube. Women eating their placenta after birth. Either cooked or freeze dried and put into capsules.

Have any of you had a patient that wanted to do this or has done this???

Val OB/GYN office LPN--Central FL

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    I know of one person (and I don't know her well at all) that ate a piece of her placenta after her daughter's birth because she was hemorrhaging. She says it worked.

    It is not for me, but it's not unheard of in other parts of the world. If I've just given birth and live in a part of the world where meat, other iron-rich foods, or vitamin supplements are hard to come by, I might consider eating my placenta (it is vascular and would have a good bit of iron). Which is probably why most people, at least elsewhere, eat it. I've also heard people say it lessens postpartum depression symptoms.

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    I have heard of this..and actually have wanted to do it for years. The thought of eating a placenta doesn't bother me, I don't have any bloodbourne (sp?) diseases, and it's done in nature all the time. Some people have written about health benefits. I don't really know if they are true, but I'd do it anyway regardless. I just think it would be a unique way to commemorate the birth of my child.

    I don't know if I'd share it though, maybe with my husband if he wanted to. I have heard of people who had parties and gave some placenta for to the whole family to eat (they knew what it was of course). Then there was a European cooking show where a human placenta was cooked and one of the hosts had to eat some when he lost a bet...

    So...I guess for being in the "yes" category, I am on the normal side...

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    Wasn't there a big thread on this a while ago? Or maybe I'm thinking of a Lotus Birth?

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    I've heard of it......I find it a tad "cannibalistic". To each his own, though.

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    The is a well-known practice among midwives; who promote it for women

    who are hemorrhaging to slow the blood flow. It is reported to work as

    well as Pitocin.

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    If you're eating your placenta in the immediate postpartum period to stop hemorrhaging, would that mean you're eating it raw?

    I have heard of some patients keeping the placenta to take home and bury. I've never heard of anyone taking it home for the purpose of eating it, but maybe they just didn't want to disclose that. I'm not sure I could do it.

    Lotus Birth is another interesting topic- leaving the placenta attached to the umbilical cord until it dries up and falls off. That would be a new technique for me- swaddling a newborn with a placenta attached.

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    Placenta encapsulation is pretty common here in Colo Springs. We have several encapsulation specialists in town.

    I had my placenta encapsulated. IME, I absolutely noticed an increase in my milk supply and a decrease in PPD (compared to previous birth when I didn't have it done).

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