Has anyone eaten their placenta?

[Mylittlepuds]

Sorry if this has been done. I'm just curious. I suspect it costs a fortune to get it whatevered into pills - and I'd be considered mental by friends and family if I did - so probably out for me. Yet I'm intrigued...

Oh and thanks to JeremyKyles for making me clutch my sides laughing with the description of the giant placenta!

are they rank valium?

Tbh it was so long ago I have forgotten but I don't remember them being bad and was only told what they were after I had eaten them. They can't have been that bad

It sounds batty to me. Still it takes all sorts. I saw a nature programme once saying animals in the wild do this to stop other predators getting the scent of blood and prowling round. Can't see a modern mum will have this problem.

"So if a vegan/vegetarian chews their nails, or the skin around or bites their lips or chews at a piece of cheek they're eating meat? It's not meat by any definition of something being maimed or killed"

It certainly isnt anything like chewing your nails either!!!

It was once a living organ, and if it came out of a farm animal it would be on butchers counters across the land.

If you have to prepare it, season it, and saute it, it most certainly aint like biting your lip! Unless you actually eat bits of your own face!

I'm probably going to regret saying this.......... but yes, I did!

Might try frying bits of toenail... for a bet. How much money will you pay? Throw in a heel picking for free

All I'm trying to say is some gazelle eating a placenta doesn't suddenly become odd or a carnivore that might start tearing into other flesh. Placenta eating seems biologically to be an anomaly with the emphasis only a trekkie can give that word.

teedeeuk that's amazing.

YABU

I'm interested in encapsulation.

Ok I did.

I had a small piece made into a fruit smoothie which I had a few hours after the birth. It just tasted of fruit but having had a horrendous 48 hour labour and an EMCS, I really think it helped. I also had a PPH so it was a good iron boost and 24 hours later I wasn't even slightly anaemic.

I had the remainder made into capsules. The average placenta makes 170 capsules...mine made 250. Twas enormous! I took them for 6 weeks after birth and made a good recovery without even a hint of baby blues. Having previously suffered from depression I was keen to try anything to avoid PND (which is one of the claims IPEN make). Whether it was a psychological or physical thing, it helped. The hormone boost is also supposed to help your milk production.

I've taken about half the pill. The rest can be stord in the freezer and used as natural bespoke HRT when I hit the menopause.

I'd recommend it. It's not disgusting and I'm not a twat/ knobhead I had a really traumatic, out-of-control birth with lots of intervention and this is one of the only bits I was in control of. Cost around £100 with the fresh ftuit.

The woman who did the capsules also suprised me by making me a heart shape out of the dried umbilical cord! Pretty weird but I love it.

I'm also a vegetarian and can't see why lots of you think it's more disgusting than eating a dead animal's rump or trotter?

I got the capsules done after dd2 .. Took a bit of getting my head around but I'd do it again without doubt

YABU

GROSS!!!!

YouMakeMeWanna, was this a service your doula provided?

I too am exploring as many avenues as possible to avoid PND a second time.

Meh. It makes sense to me.

Well, while doing my MW training I read a paper about placenta eating being a preventative of PND. After I had my last baby I thought I would give it a go (cooked, like liver, with onions) it was fine even though I'm a vegetarian!
I felt great. No regrets.

Well I've cast my lot with the pro group, even though I didn't.

Not gross at all. Fabulous.

squeaky the vast majority of vegetarians don't eat meat because we don't want to eat the results of killing animals, rather than avoiding body parts on general principal. Giving birth doesn't involve killing animals, therefore placenta isn't a problem.

lala was yours done by the woman who was on tv? she made hearts out of the umbilical cord.

i think the capsules sound ok actually.

i had a good look atball my placentas and had a huge one with ds4 he was 10lb 13oz
it was so huge the mudwife callef other people to look at it! anyway i think placentas are amazing and i really enjoyed having a good look. ds1 was present for dd's birth and cut the cord and had a good look at the placenta and the sac etc. pretty good biology lesson for him!

Toaster I found someone local to me who does it through the IPEN website. I never met her, just got a friend to collect my placenta after the CS (had to tell the MWs I wanted it keeping and they told the surgeon not to bin it), take it straight round and wait while she made the smoothie then brought it straight back. She had to dry the rest then grind and encapsulate it but it the pills were waiting for me when I got out hospital 2 days later. You get a little booklet of instructions and details.

Maybe we don't need to do it, maybe it's just done in nature to hide evidence of birth (though I thibnk that's only one reason; the other being intense nutrition for a tired mother) but we all do shitloads of stuff that isn't 'natural' or necessary so why use that argument.

And, I ask again: why is consuming your own placenta more disgusting than meat from dead animals? Maybe it's just the way it looks? Or that it comes out your fanny (although mine didn't ). I can understand that but you should at least research the benefits before calling me 'disgusting' or a 'twat'.

Right well...the reason I'm so interested is that I too suffered horrendous anxiety-based PND following th birth of my DS. It all started with a panic attack a few days after the birth - had never had one before and so I can only assume it was due to the drop in hormones. My DS is only 17 months and this pregnancy is unplanned. I'm absolutely terrified what happened before will happen again. I'm only really coming out of it now. It's been a livin nightmare.

So...I'll try anything. Including this. Do the ones who wanted avoid PND a second time around really think this helped? What on earth can I tell my obstetrician? Were there many questions asked by your medical team?

I'm not sure if she was on TV 5mad . But I love the little heart. I liked showing it to my MIL then explaining what it was! Her face was a picture!

I had an op post birth and missed out on tea and toast. Dh had to go to pret

puds This was my first pregnancy so not sure if I would have got PND but I have had depression and hormone problems so that was my motivation and I haven't yet felt down at all.

My woman gave me a form and a label to give to the midwives, but I forgot so just told them on the day and they organised it. It has to be stored in the fridge immediately and transported in a cool bag, so you'll have to organise that. Think my friend had it in a (very large) ziploc bag inside the coolbag.

Definately give it a try.