I Ate My Placenta
I ate my placenta.
Not in its raw, bloody form! - or even cooked in soup (as practiced in some cultures), but just in the form of capsules.
It doesn't look like an appetizing meal, but it's actually full of nutrients.
What is a Placenta?
The placenta is an organ which is responsible for nourishing and protecting a fetus during pregnancy. It is unique in that it is a temporary organ; it grows alongside the fetus during pregnancy, and then is expelled along with the fetus at birth. The placenta is also sometimes called "afterbirth," as it is expelled through the vagina after the fetus has been delivered. (Placenta - What Is It and How It Works | Biology Dictionary)
What Does a Placenta Look Like?
It looks like a pancake - a thick, wrinkly, veiny pancake. It’s round and flat and has a cord attached to the center. The cord is like a feeding tube to the fetus that delivers all of the nutrients that get captured from the foods the mother eats.
To avoid fully traumatizing anyone, I won’t provide a bloody photo of a placenta, but rather, what a placenta looks like after it's been cleaned (below).
Did you know that most mammals eat their own placenta? It's not a common practice among humans. And I wouldn't think conventional doctors would suggest it either after I did some research and read claims on it being harmful to mothers to consume, posing an infection risk to newborns. Being the inner hippie natural mama I am, I was definitely interested in learning more after my naturopathic doctors and midwives brought it up.
Placentophagy (yes, there is a term for this!) was an interesting subject to dig around. I saw bloody, raw images on the web, articles that spoke against placentophagy, support from midwifery groups on the practice, and read stories of other moms eating their placenta. Among my inner circle of friends, it didn't seem to be a topic that most knew about, and only one mom friend ate her placenta.
I learned from midwives, doulas, and lactation consultants through various childbirth classes and doctor visits that placentophagy is an ancient practice that can benefit the mother. Eating the placenta can boost milk supply, provide extra nutrients to the body, and improve postpartum blues. These women who shared their firsthand experience with me and told me stories of many clients who did the same, gave me an authentic perspective. I didn't feel pressured AT ALL to save my placenta and eat it. I wanted to, after doing my own due diligence as anyone should, when considering something that's controversial. I personally felt that since I was pretty strict with having a clean diet during pregnancy, I wanted to keep my placenta carrying all of the nourishment I worked so hard to cultivate. So to me, the pros seemed to outweigh the cons.
My Experience
One of the things I spoke to my doula about was saving my placenta after birth and encapsulating it. When I went home to tell my parents of this, they were shocked to hear that I wanted to eat my own placenta. Where they were from in China, the purpose of the placenta after birth was to provide nourishment to the elderly, not to the mother. The placenta is cleaned, cooked, and provided to the elders in the family or a family friend. When my mother gave birth to my brother in China, she passed her placenta to an old relative, and when she had me in America, she tossed it out. So, unfortunately, my parents were not totally supportive of my decision.
About a half-hour after I gave birth and bonded with my baby chest-to-chest, skin-to-skin (if you're having birth at a hospital, make sure they allow you to bond with your baby right away!!), I pushed out the placenta with the midwives' help. They pressed their hands gently, yet firmly on my belly, and out came a giant, bloody glob on the bed. It felt like a massive period clot had been released. My doula took the placenta from the midwives and stored it in a portable freezer bag I brought.
My placenta was taken to a trained professional to have it cleaned, dehydrated, and ground into powder form. The next day, I received a glass jar (containing probably 100 or more capsules) delivered to my door and the cord was turned into the shape of a heart! For this service, I paid $250. It lasted for me over two months, and I didn't even finish it. Because it's like real food inside the capsules, it's best taken sooner than later. In the beginning, I took one a day, then bumped it up to two. I noticed that when I took two or more, I felt super engorged like I had some form of leaky boob syndrome, so I scaled it back to just one.
Living with parents (if you have traditional ones like mine) can be stressful, so I definitely battled some postpartum emotional issues. I didn't notice the pills' effects right away on my emotions, but after taking it on and off for a few weeks, I saw a pattern. Whenever I took the pills, I felt better, and my mood improved, especially after a fight with my parents on parenting! I stuck with mostly taking one a day for about two months, to help stabilize my emotions. I feel like I started off with ample milk supply anyway, so I didn't feel the need to take more than one a day for the milk-boosting benefits. After two months passed, I began to feel better emotionally and physically, especially after the confinement stage, so I stopped taking the pills altogether.
My Last Thoughts
In hindsight, I see a pattern in how the placenta capsules improved my mood and enhanced my milk supply. Even though I didn't need the extra help with my milk, I would definitely go for placenta encapsulation again just because it carries the nutritional benefits. I also work hard to keep my diet clean so I would feel like it would be wasteful to throw it away. I strongly support women eating their own placenta if they feel it may benefit them and hope that more women will learn about the practice and do their digging to figure out if it's the right move!