Your placenta is full of nutrients that your baby thrives from in the utero. It is also full of hormones. While Placentophagia seems new and unheard of or even frowned upon here in our western civilization it has actually been used for thousands of years and can be prepared in a variety of ways. With postpartum depression on the rise, most mothers report that the hormones help keep mama blues at bay. Benefits of placenta encapsulation have not been proven by research, but anecdotal information from mothers have claimed that ingestion of the placenta can aid in:
*Lactation by helping to increase milk production (the placenta contains prolactin) *Postpartum mood disorders or baby blues (the placenta contains CRH) *Pain Relief *Anemia through increased iron levels (the placenta contains hemoglobin) *Fatigue through increased energy levels (the placenta contains TSH-Thyroid Stimulating Hormone) *Sleep cycles *Reducing bleeding and returning the uterus to its original size *Providing Immunity (presence of immune factors)
Some moms who have worked with me reported feeling a change within minutes. They experienced having increased lactation, better mood, more energy, less after pains, sounder sleep and less bleeding.
What Hormones are contained in your placenta?
Gonadotrophin: the precursor to estrogen, progesterone and testosterone
Prolactin: promotes lactation.
Oxytocin: for pain and bonding; produced during breastfeeding to facilitate bonding of mother and infant. In pharmaceutical form this is a very addictive drug because it promotes a feeling of connectedness with others,
Thyroid stimulating hormone: boosts energy and helps recovery from stressful events.
Cortisone: combats stress and unlocks energy stores,
Interferon: stimulates the immune system to protect against infections,
Prostaglandins: anti-inflammatory
Hemoglobin: replenishes iron deficiency and anemia, a common postpartum condition,
Urokinase inhibiting factor and factor XIII: stops bleeding and enhances wound healing,
Gammaglobulin: immune booster that helps protect against postpartum infections.
THE PROCESS
The Placenta Specialist collects the placenta in the hospital on the day of birth. The mama must make sure to place the placenta on ice with an ice chest you bring from home filled with ice packs as soon as it is released.
Pending on whether you request for this service to be done in your home ( for an additional charge), It is then cleaned and the umbilical cord and amniotic sac removed.
If choosing TCM method -It is lightly steamed with ginger (which is said to be used for its warming aroma during the steam) and myrrh (myrrh is said to draw the essence of the placenta out during the steam). This is great when you have lost blood and need to keep your body's temperature warm, or as the only method that can be done for a mother with GBS.
It is then sliced into thin strips, and placed in a dehydrator to remove all water for a period of a minimum of 10 hours. Once dehydrated it is then ground into a powder and finally encapsulated into pills, with an average of 100+ pills (plant based veggie capsules avail on request).
Care and cleanliness is most important during this process. No cross contamination occurs. Gloves are used during the entire process. Each placenta has its own disposable cutting board and all instrumentation is cleaned thoroughly before and after each use with disinfectant.
A placenta tincture is included with my package ( if you do not have GBS), this is made with 100 proof vodka and a small piece of raw placenta that then dissolves and cures over the course of six weeks. There are many uses for a tincture. It can be used to balance hormones after birth and enhance milk supply. This tincture has a long shelf life, some clients even purchase it to save for menopause! It can also serve as your child's constitutional remedy throughout his/her life for ailments such as colic, colds and indigestion. Unless there are extenuating circumstances, you will receive your placenta supplements within 24 hours of your birth so that you can maximize your health which is critical for faster and more effective recovery. I serve the greater Los Angeles area and one of the few that provides this type of turn around.
IS GBS SAFE TO DO PLACENTA ENCAPSULATION ?
Group B Strep is a bacterial infection that naturally lives in the gastrointestinal tract in up to 25% of all healthy adult women; most of whom have no symptoms. GBS tests are given between 35 and 37 weeks gestation and when a pregnant woman tests positive for GBS, it means that the bacteria has colonized in her vagina or rectum; it does not mean that there is an active, live infection. Mothers who test positive for GBS, will most-likely be put on antibiotics via an IV during labor to make sure the baby doesn’t contract the infection, but if no antibiotics are given, there is a 1 in 200 chance that the baby will become infected. Newborn GBS infections can be serious and even fatal. Many women who test positive at 37 weeks will no longer be GBS positive at delivery and some who tested negative at 37 weeks will be positive for the bacteria at delivery but never know it. GBS isn’t a contraindication for placental consumption, but it does dictate how the placenta is prepared…NEVER raw. GBS is contraindicated for raw stem cell therapy, smoothies, raw encapsulation, raw tinctures, and raw skin creams. It is NOT, however, contraindicated for encapsulation when using the TCM-inspired method (steaming prior to dehydration) and dehydrating at a higher temperature (165 degrees) for the first hour of dehydration. This is the only method of preparation offered to those with GBS.