{Placenta Encapsulation}

If you read my guest posts over at Peace, Love, & Poop you will see some of the issues I had with nursing my daughter, and then my son was better but had food allergies, and I had PPD with him.

I can tell you I did not feel like myself at all. I am a strong, independent woman who is not afraid to show my feelings but in spite of a joyous occasion, I was miserable and crying and overwhelmed. I was discouraged by my PhD sister and nurse mom and my husband from taking the antidepressants since I was nursing, and they just didn't feel I needed them, until I had a serious talk with them about how overwhelmed I felt. I did get switched to a different one, but surprisingly got pregnant quickly- like when my son was 6 months old, and I had to go off of them, and I know I was not ready. It made for a very rough first trimester and part into the second trimester.

I don't like being on medicine. I don't like feeling the way I did. I don't like feeling like myself and feeling like a failure as a mother and wife. But I knew it wasn't my fault and I just had to find some better option for us.

I had heard here and there about placenta encapsulation. I am semi-crunchy and have some very crunchy friends. I started researching it more. This is something my husband was hoping and praying I would choose not to do. He was totally grossed out by it. The more I read about it, the more I thought it was a very interesting and natural option. I believe God created us and gave us the necessary equipment to help ourselves heal and recover naturally. Utilizing one's placenta has happened for generations until we got to the gross factor and considered it barbaric. After my research- I just don't see how it is any worse for me to consume my placenta which is naturally made and contains all these nutrients that I trusted it to help my babies grow, but I would trust the FDA and a pharmaceutical industry to give me something "safe" Sanitary that is supposed to help me but will give me odd side effects. I work in an FDA regulated industry. I know what gets slipped by as ok. I know how manufacturing companies determine what is ok and what is "less" harmful to do. I think I trust my God and nature to provide for me.

Here is some of the information I learned.

Did you know, that consuming your placenta can help with:

*Avoidance of Postpartum Blues & Depression

*Rapid Postpartum Recovery

*Natural Replenishment of Lost Iron and Nutrients

*Hormone Balancing and Replacement

*Increased Lactation

*Reduced Anxiety

*Increased Energy

I am a chemist and I wanted to understand more about how this works and why. After all I do know that most other countries it is not uncommon for women to consume their placentas- China especially. On our farm and having animals- most every animal I know consumes theirs as well. So when you think about it these other countries and animals typically have a quicker recovery period. Animals after all have to get up immediately and protect their young from predators. We jokingly call the baby when I am pregnant my leech- sucking the life out of me, and in a way its true. The baby and placenta are getting lots of nutrients from my body- from my food, vitamins, blood, the hormones and nutrients that we supply during pregnancy. What happens when you deliver- all those nutrients are in the placenta and are gone.

Here is the scientific list of what your placenta holds and how it is beneficial:

*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 and is often referred to as the "love" hormone
*Interferon - stimulates the immune system to protect against infection

*Thyroid Stimulating Hormone - boosts energy and helps recovery from stressful events
*Cortisone - combats stress and unlocks stores of energy
*Prostaglandins - anti-inflammatory
*Hemoglobin - replenishes iron deficiency and anemia
*Gammaglobulin - immune booster that helps protect against postpartum infections

*Urokinase Inhibiting Factor & Factor XIII - stops bleeding and enhances wound healing

Well my husband has come around, and I have also discussed with family, several close friends, co-workers and even my boss. I am amazed at the support and response I have been given. I think today we are more skeptical of pharmaceutical products. I have had several people look into it more, and even have a few friends that have done it so I have good knowledge of how it works.

I did get clearance from my OB since I will be a scheduled c-section. I also had to get approval from pathology at the hospital and administration. I was pleasantly surprised with the support and questions they asked me and the response. I will be keeping up with them on my progress and they had not heard of it before and are looking into it as a reference for other patients and educating their staff. I will update my experience as we go along this journey. I am excited about it and feel free to ask me any questions you may have now or along the way.

For anyone local, I will be using Jereka Hunt from Wombmart.

She has written several articles including this one. and has great info on her own blog Wombmart.com. She also runs Go Natural Charlotte and helps highlight Natural lifestyles and share information about those businesses.

Jereka Hunt contact info:
www.wombmart.com
email: info@wombart.com
Twitter: @CLTPlacenta
FB: http://www.facebook.com/Wombmart

A few Articles:

http://placentabenefits.info/medicinal.asp

http://fruitoflifenc.blogspot.com/p/blog.html


http://www.passionatehomemaking.com/2011/10/the-benefits-of-placenta-encapsulation-for-postpartum-healing.html