I ate my placenta

Well no, not really, I didn’t cook it up and chow down on it like a steak, but I did have it turned into capsules for me to take, after my second baby was born.

For some people this can seem a bit icky, and others find it downright disgusting, but I wasn’t really phased by it. I’d read about so many of the benefits, and really wanted to try it. D couldn't really cope with the concept, so we agreed that I would do it, but that I wouldn't try to talk to him about it. Poor man.

So, an hour after my son was born, a lovely woman came to the hospital to collect my placenta and took it home with her in a plastic bucket. She then worked her magic and cooked and dried it with all sorts of herbs and potions, then returned it to me in a cute glass bottle full of very normal looking capsules. 

Placenta capsules

She'd also made up a salve for me that had some of the dried placenta powder mixed through it (great for sore nipples!), and as an added surprise she'd created a piece of art using my placenta - she said my placenta was so 'lovely' that she'd been inspired to create the artwork. That was certainly a compliment I'd never heard before!.  She had also dried the umbilical cord and turned it into a dream catcher, which she suggested I hang over my son's bed (umm, no thanks).

I must admit, the first few days I had to make an effort not to gag as I took them, as they do have quite a ‘meaty’ smell, but I got used to it pretty quickly, and really felt amazing for taking them. Even though I had a screaming newborn who didn’t sleep and kept projectile vomiting on me, I felt calm and happy and had an abundance of energy. I also had lots of breastmilk, which I attributed to the capsules as well. In fact, I had to cut back on the number of capsules I was taking as I ended up with an oversupply of milk.

Some of the benefits of consuming your placenta include:

• Reducing the risk of PND
• Increasing breastmilk supply
• Replenishing iron stores (in fact it is recommended to stop taking iron supplements while you’re taking your placenta capsules)
• Reducing the length of postnatal bleeding
• Aides in shrinking the uterus faster
• Increasing general well-being.

Source: The Nurtured Bebe

Consuming the placenta, or 'placentophagy' as it's known scientifically, is not a new craze. Lots of different cultures have acknowledged the power of the placenta throughout the years, some by cooking and eating it, some by burying it and planting a tree over it.

The placenta has nourished your bub for 40 long weeks, it seems such a waste to just throw it in the bin after the birth! Don't be put off because of the 'ick factor', the benefits really are amazing.

Did you do anything special with your placenta?