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.
Some PBi specialists can also receive your placenta to their location for encapsulation, and they will mail the pills to you within a few days.
The potential health benefits of placental encapsulation:
- Post partum pain relief
- Quicker healing and recovery after delivery
- Replenish iron levels/decreased chance of iron deficiency
- Decreased “baby blues” or post-partum depression
- Improved lactation/milk production
- Overall increased feelings of being connected to your body
The potential barriers and hazards:
- Placental encapsulation services are not regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The FDA has not evaluated or approved the use of these pills, and has not supported any health benefit claims made by these services.
- If you send your placenta to a remote location, it is a “buyer-beware” market. You are unable to verify your placenta has been handled safely according to strict health standards. You are unable to verify the pills contain your own placenta and do not contain harmful substances.
- Hospitals are often reluctant to release the placental material because of the chance of spreading blood-borne diseases (like hepatitis and HIV), but you do have the right to your placenta. It is recommended that you talk with your OB/GYN and hospital months before your delivery date.
I would like to learn more about the health benefits of placentophagy, including the nutrient and hormone content available in the encapsulated placenta. My doubt is in the over-processing of the placenta, as if the placenta is potentially beneficial in its raw state, how much of these benefits are lost during the dehydration and grounding processes.
What are your thoughts? Would you consider encapsulating your placenta? Do you feel the potential benefits outweigh the possible risks (especially if sent/mailed to another location?).
For more information:
http://placentabenefits.info/about.asp
http://www.vivantemidwifery.com/placenta.html