Let's talk placentas, shall we?

I'm was born and bred in Boulder, Colorado. Land of the liberals, where I am a moderate. Home of the dreadheaded trustafarians, of which I am neither. I shave my armpits, I don't drive a Subaru and I rarely play my didgeridoo for a crowd on Pearl Street. Although I love my hometown more than most places on earth, I haven't ever really fit the granola mold. It wasn't until becoming pregnant that I started to realize I had a little more tree hugger in me than I once thought.

My choice to have a natural water birth with midwives outside of a hospital was received with a bit of resistance from most people I told. But what really raised some eyebrows was my decision to encapsulate my placenta and consume it after giving birth.

After researching the numerous physical and emotional health benefits of consuming your placenta, deciding to dehydrate and encapsulate mine was a no brainer. 

Think about it. For 9 months during pregnancy, this incredible organ supports a growing life inside your body. It provides a perfect balance of vitamins, minerals and hormones to create a healthy baby. Once you've delivered that baby, the placenta remains as a viable, nutrient-rich organ uniquely designed for your body, by your body. It is chock-full of protein and iron which help aid in the body's recovery after childbirth. Placenta pills naturally increase energy, lessen postnatal bleeding, and may also help to increase milk supply in lactating women. 

Perhaps one of the greatest health benefits of consuming your placenta, however, is its ability to combat the symptoms of baby blues and postpartum depression. One article I read had this to say about fluctuating hormone levels after childbirth:

"Research on placentophagy is still in its infancy, although there is a large body of research beginning to develop on postpartum hormone fluctuations and health. Researchers from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) conducted a study that focused on CRH (Corticotropin-Releasing Hormone). CRH is a stress reducer, and is generally produced by the hypothalamus. During the last trimester of pregnancy, the placenta secretes so much CRH that the levels in the bloodstream increase threefold. However, it was also discovered that postpartum women have lower than average levels of CRH, triggering depressive symptoms.¹ They concluded that the placenta secreted so much CRH that the hypothalamus stopped producing it. Once the placenta was born, it took some time for the hypothalamus to get the signal that the CRH levels were low, and to begin producing it again. This is just another sign that there is likely a biological cause for the baby blues, directly related to hormone levels." source

Did you know humans are the only mammals who don't eat their placenta immediately after giving birth? While I certainly wouldn't be game for making a placenta lasagna (it's true, there are recipes), I see nothing scary about taking a vitamin that is made from a product of my own body.   

Since I began taking my dehydrated placenta pills just a few days after delivering Liv and she is my only child, I don't have any other experience to compare it to. All I can say is that depression runs in my family and my physical and emotional recovery after giving birth was incredibly smooth. My milk came in quickly and with abundance and I felt that my hormones regulated within a couple short weeks. With the exception of a handful of sleep deprived sob sessions, I didn't experience any of the scary symptoms of postpartum depression.

Placentophagy has been around for thousands of years in eastern medicine practices. For me, that was evidence enough to give it a try. I figured if I didn't notice anything, no harm done. But if it could aid in my physical recovery and emotional health, it would be well worth it.

I would encourage any pregnant mamas out there to do some research on people in your area who do placenta encapsulation. Dig a little deeper, talk to people who have done it. Knowledge is power and it might make all the difference in your recovery after birth.

This semi-granola Boulderite is certainly a believer!