Treatment for Post-Partum Depression, Pain Relief and Lactation: Placenta Pills
Photos: Getty Images
Think back to the days, weeks and even months after you gave birth. Does the phrase "hit by a train" not even come close to describing your physical, mental and emotional state at that time? Did you have “baby blues” or post-partum depression?
What would you say if a pill could have lessened your pain, improved your recovery time and could help prevent post-partum depression?
What would you say if that pill was made out of your placenta?
There are a wide variety of cultural beliefs and practices about the placenta. You may have heard some societies treat the placenta “as a spiritual being with its own burial rituals. Other cultures believe that the placenta has healing properties.”
The placenta is an amazingly unique organ, as it not only nourishes your baby during pregnancy, it is the only “disposable” organ grown specifically for this purpose.
When a woman uses her placenta for healing properties by consuming it (in many different forms), it is called, “placentophagy”. There have been studies on animals who eat their placentas after birth, and in lab rats, “may provide pain-relief during and after delivery”. It has been shown that “an active substance present in the placenta and amniotic fluid called Placental Opioid-Enhancing Factor (POEF) seems to act as an analgesic by raising pain thresholds.” Your placenta contains many nutrients and hormones that nourished your baby, and these may help new moms to restore balance to their body, provide more energy and help with post-partum healing.
If you are interested in the potential health benefits of your placenta after birth, but are too skittish to think about handling your own placenta, you can hire a “placental encapsulation service” specialist who can come to your home and prepare your placenta for you. Specialists who have received training for encapsulating have most likely received a PBi certification, and use a dehydrator to dry out your placental tissue, ground the dried tissue and create pills (“encapsulation”) for women to consume after giving birth. The process costs about $200-$300, and pills last about 6 weeks.
We value and respect the experiences of all of our HERWriters, but everyone is different. Many of our writers are speaking from personal experience, and what's worked for them may not work for you. Their articles are not a substitute for medical advice although we hope you can gain knowledge from their insight.
Add a Comment1 Comments
Find Recipes, information and international directory of placenta specialists at http://www.placentanetwork.com.
November 25, 2010 - 4:08amThis Comment