I am interested in making a placenta smoothie has anyone else done this??

[Smileysar1]

I've done lots of research and really keen to make a placenta smoothie after the birth. I've found lots of recipes. But nowhere does it say how to store the placenta or how many days to drink it for. I know that research is minimal but just wondered if you or anyone you know have made placenta smoothies and what you did?! Any help would be greatly appreciated :)

Uh ok Bluepetra

Having seen mine post-birth, I was quite happy for the midwife to take it away. There is no way in hell I'd have eaten it.

I know a few people who've done it. Not sure on the details but if you're on Facebook you could look up some natural/crunchy parenting groups and ask in there.

Thank you for your responses and sorry I haven't replied sooner I fell asleep last night!
My pregnancy has not been a smooth one this time around, I have been quite poorly with various infections etc and have needed 4 courses of antibiotics, and inhalers for pregnancy induced asthma I thought I might be able to re infuse my body with some good nutrients that have provided my baby do well. I've read (albeit the limited research) but also from women that have done this, that it helps reduce pp bleeding, brings in your milk quicker; reduces post natal depression and gives you a bit more energy!
I thought eating it raw in a smoothie would reduce the amount of nutrients lost through cooking.
I understand the negativity surrounding it and tbh my first preg was a breeze in comparison to this one so didn't even think about it! I just want to make my body strong enough to cope successfully with 2 children post birth!!
Thanks for the links I'll defo try you tube!

Try here for info if you haven't seen it already: www.placentanetwork.com

Yes I've made a lot of decisions from reading all the info from this site. I'm just stuck when it comes to storage/how many days to eat(drink) it for. To be fair I've prob left it a bit late as I'm due on the 7th!! But thought seeing as it's getting to be such a popular trend someone on here might have done it and would've been able to advise, always worth a try!
Thank you. Sorry if I've grossed anyone out I know it's a very individual weird decision!!

Don't apologive! It isn't a weird decision, it is much more commonplace nowadays, plus people have been doing it for bloody years. I find it odd they've never heard of anyone eating it! Hope you find out the info you need.

*apologise!

But your placenta isnt the source of nutrients that nourished your baby - your blood was. The placenta is a vehiclefor getting those nutrients from your body to the baby's. Its effectively like your digestive tract - nutrients in, waste products out, so it's a bit like eating your bowel.

To me, it's another one of those pseudoscientific things. Don't get me wrong, the placenta is a wonderful organ, but as your baby is born, it undergoes complex changes and effectively begins to necrose and decay. Three days after birth, you've effectively got part of a postmortem in your fridge. It's certainly a source of protein but you'd be better off with a nice fresh steak.

Please, please don't give any of it to anyone else! Human tissue is a source of all manner of nasty infectious material. I hear of people having placenta parties and I want to shake them and give them a lecture on endogenous retroviruses and prions ( go google kuru and tell me you still think eating human tissue is a good idea!)

Why not bury it under a tree or something?

I should also add that I'm not at all squeamish - I've spent a good part of my career up to my elbows in blood, organs and tissue. It's just that to do that I had to have a billion vaccinations, and dispose of it all as hazardous biological waste.
It's absolutely up to you of course, if you want to purée it, then go for it, but please, for the love of your deity of choosing, don't give it to anyone else!

The placenta is certainly a miraculous thing, but by the time it is delivered the miracle is complete.
If you were in a place and time where very little dietary protein was available to you, I could see that that would be a potential benefit of eating it. However, given that that is not the case, I would regard it in the same light as considering consuming any other raw and enormously contaminated piece of meat. None of the enzymes or hormones present in the tissue could possibly survive your stomach acid. (And hopefully most of the bacteria wouldn't either, though the longer you store it, the higher the frankly astronomical bacterial count will soar.)
I hope you feel better now after all your ill health and that you have a gorgeous healthy happy baby with whom you are instantly madly in love!

I would never share it about!! I entirely understand the cons as well as the pros and I think I just felt so poorly all the way throughout this pregnancy I can't face feeling like this with a baby and a 3yo to look after. I have to have a cs too which means a longer recovery time so all in all I just wanted to try anything that might give me a chance of feeling well when I get home. When you read of other women who have done the same it sounds like a perfectly reasonable decision but I know there's risks and that's why I was looking for a bit of advice x

You can have it dehydrated and encapsulated so it is still raw and minimal loss of nutrients. You could discuss options with your local ipen person. (Indipendant placenta encapsulation network). My local lady does smoothies as well as encapsulation and lots of other stuff as well. Sure you will be able to find them online.

Enzymes don't survive your stomach scid, as the pp says. It all gets broken down into the constituent nutrients which you then absorb. There's also a considerable infection risk - for example, would you eat a steak that had been with you in the delivery room and in contact with your nether regions? As the placenta comes out it gets exposed to all your skin bacteria, whatever is in the delivery room, traces of faeces etc....

I'm sorry you have felt so poorly this pregnancy - you definitely need to get a good check up to make sure your iron levels etc are monitored, and eat a healthy diet and get as much rest as you can (hard with a newborn!) but to me, there are too many cons and not enough pros here. The best way for you to get yourself back to fighting form is rest, recovery and good diet.

Good luck with the birth! Hope you have a safe delivery and a happy healthy newborn :)

The idea that the placenta is full of magic nutrients is just a load of woo bollocks frankly. Women who have done it are by definition invested in the concept so the placebo effect will be strong, that's why they report all those symptoms which they attribute to placenta eating. The placenta doesn't store nutrients and magic health properties, that's just not true.

I've had worse from the kebab shop.

He women I've met who have done this have been really pleased with the results so I say go for it.

But it's expensive to get the capsules made up and I dont think I could stomach the smoothies.

Smiley, I was thinking that you really should make sure that your diet is currently as good as it can be, and that you are getting lots of protein and essential fatty acids and vitamins and minerals.
I think your instinct is probably correct that you need some sort of tonic or booster. I just don't think that your placenta is going to be it. x

Ick!

Cant imagine it has any more nutritional value than any of your other viscera.

Once the blood flow between it and you stop it is a dead organ.

Its done its job - End of.

Burying it with some reverence as many cultures do makes far more sense than ingesting it to me.
Feed it to your roses much more benefit from it that way.

Leaving it attached to the baby is also another practice I find rather gruesome - its dead, why have a piece of rotting flesh attached to your precious baby for x many days.

Mammals chew through the umbilical cord or it breaks naturally shortly after delivery, for a very good reason. It needs to be got rid of so it doesn't attract predators.
Yes some eat it as an immediate means to dispose of and probably regain any nutritional value, but surely we have gone beyond needing to do that?

There was a program about it, women saying that chimps don't remove it, but research says its usually inexperienced first time mothers that often leave it attached.

Cook it if you have to eat it. Steak and placenta pie - yummy

Have a nice box of chocolates instead, OP. They will make you feel much better than a blended placenta.

I think you should speak to a mental health expert first.
But if you are determined I have heard that placenta tastes just like chicken so presumably a placenta smoothie will taste just like chicken soup.
Do let us know how you get on, not.

I had mine encapsulated!
I know it's anecdotal but I felt great following DC2's arrival.
I realise the chances are I could have been ok anyway, but I had so many comments about how well I looked elc.

I used a lady I found through the placenta network, she did it all for me.
I started a thread on here about it, and had similar responses to you!

If I have Dc3 I will definitely do it again. Maybe it's a placebo, maybe I would have been fine without it, but I felt amazing and put it down to the placenta.
Every mammal ingests their placenta, why shouldn't we.

Smiley face:
Big grin:
Wink:
Shocked:
Sceptical:
Confused:
Embarrassed:
Angry:
Sad:
Envious:
No comment:
Wine glass:
Hot Beverage:
Cake:
Flowers:
Dragon:
Star:

Mumsy??

Chicken, mammals do lots of things we don't. That argument is null. Would you stimulate your baby to pee or poo by licking their genitals and then consume it? Yeah, thought not.

I had mine encapsulated. I really think that it did me a lot of good - I was absolutely full of energy and just felt great. I had them within 3 days of ds being born and really noticed when they kicked in. Even if it's a placebo effect I don't care, it was worth it for me.