Placenta Encapsulation

So, in our Hypnobirthing class, our teacher brought up the placenta and started a discussion. I had heard of people saving their placenta to bury it, but that's about it. I know that it's consumed in some cultures and by mammals. I had regretted not saving Kalaya's, mainly because it's a pretty amazing thing; we grow this awesome organ that supports the life of our child in the womb!! And then in our culture, we just...throw it away. Not that I think it should be put on display or something. But, it seems kind of, I don't know, dishonorable or something. In the Micronesan culture (which is where Nelson's dad is from), it is buried and a coconut tree is planted over it. I considered doing this with Kalaya, but we didn't own a home and I didn't know where we would plant it.

Anyway, back to our class. Our teacher brought up the idea of placenta encapsulation. Meaning, you process your placenta into pills and, yes, consume it. THEN she said that it's something you can do yourself or hire someone for. She mentioned several midwives in the area that do it for around $300. Another couple in the class spoke up and said that they had done it with their previous birth and that the mother's partner had actually done it herself at home and that it was fairly easy. The mother explained how much it help with post partum symptoms, including enhancing milk production, keeping baby blues away and helping with the fatigue.

I started looking more into it and found other friends who raved about it. I brought it up with Nelson and he was all for it; so for it, in fact, that he VOLUNTEERED TO DO IT!!! For those of you who know my husband, this is quite a big deal. The man barely even eats any type of meat and won't touch and that is raw. Yet, he was willing to cook and cut up an organ from my body. What a guy!!

A friend of ours is starting to study to be a midwife and had already completed the process for a friend and wanted to practice some more and offered to help Nelson for free. She already had all of the materials and came by after Jakiah was born to help.

Incase you are wondering, it is not difficult to take home your placenta. We simply added it to our birth plan and Nelson and our doula reminded the midwife after Jakiah was born. We picked it up a few days later and it was nicely bagged up in multiple layers of container and plastic. Though, the bio-hazard stickers make you feel kind of weird. And it's kind of weird to wrap your brain around seeing it thaw out in the fridge....still in the bag and sealed up though.

So, this is what you do. I forgot to take pictures at the end, but I found some online of the same thing. Here goes (note, all materials are used JUST for this, we didn't use our usual kitchen dishes and utensils and everything is clean and sterile):

First, you rinse, rinse, rinse, turning the placenta inside and out to remove as much blood as possible.

(yup, that was in me)

We chose to steam it the 'traditional way' with ginger and lemon.

Next, you steam it with the lemon and ginger, which helps cover the smell, which, incase you're wondering, is similar to turkey giblets cooking on Thanksgiving. The whole process is really more mental than anything else. (I think it was maybe 15 minutes on each side??)

At this point it started to look less like an organ and more like a piece of meat.

Then, you cut it into small strips and dry it in the oven for several hours, similar to beef jerky.

The 'J' is the chord, which we will bury and plant a tree over in our yard, along with the leftover material from the placenta. Kalaya's chord clamp will be buried with another tree, as that's the closest thing we saved.

Here's where I forgot to take pictures. You then pulverize the strips in a coffee grinder, and fill empty pill capsules (you can get them at Whole Foods, New Seasons, etc) and you're done!! I took 3 in the morning and 3 in the evening for several weeks and they made a BIG difference in my tired levels. At first I thought it was just mental, but one day I forgot to take them and WOW, it made such a difference!! And, within an hour of taking them, I felt so much more awake!!

I know this isn't for everyone, but many people asked about it and were curious!

PS. If you are interested, Nelson is more than happy to help partners process!!