About a year or two ago I came across a blog post about placenta pills. It was written by a mom who really struggled with terrible post natal depression after the birth of her first baby. On her second baby, she had her placenta turned into capsules which she then took for the first weeks following the baby's birth. She wrote about the profound difference she felt - and no post natal depression - and she attributed it all to the placenta pills. At the time, I wasn't pregnant or even thinking of starting a family yet, but her post really struck a chord with me. I thought to myself, well, why not? Why not have your placenta encapsulated and at least have the capsules there, if you need them, after your baby's birth? There's nothing to lose, and possibly only everything to gain.
I had my first baby eight weeks ago and I had my placenta encapsulated. I understand that it seems like a strange and primitive thing to do in this modern age but boy, let me tell you, I'm so glad I did. My placenta capsules turned out to be little pills of hormone happiness that really helped me recover after the birth of my son.
I was in probably the best health of my life during the last couple of months of my pregnancy - feeling well and strong - and looking forward to having my baby so much. Things didn't go quite according to my natural birth plans though and I had an emergency c-section after two weeks in hospital. I went on to lose a litre and a half of blood during and after the surgery and although I was over the moon to finally have my lovely little baby, I was completely worn out before we had even begun.
We've all heard about the 'baby blues' but you really don't know how you're going to feel after giving birth until you're there doing it. I never expected to feel as exhausted and overwhelmed as I did and when I was there, I was so glad the over-confident, pregnant me didn't forego the arrangement of the placenta encapsulation. I'm so glad that blog post came my way and that I went ahead with it on my own pregnancy.
The placenta is an incredible thing. Just think - it's an entire new organ that your body creates with the sole purpose of building and nourishing a baby - a new life! - and it's essentially your baby's full-time nurse, caring for your baby until you give birth. It's responsible for every bit of nourishment and development your baby receives from your body. It's full of hormones, vitamins, minerals, antibodies, DNA, cells and more. It is the lifeblood of your baby. So to simply discard it once you have given birth seems a little hasty, don't you think?
The 'baby blues' are attributed to the sudden loss of all the wonderful pregnancy hormones and the dramatic change in your body's state after giving birth. So why not replace them all by consuming your placenta? To me it seemed the natural thing to do. After all, we are the only mammals that don't immediately eat our placentas after giving birth. A placenta "smoothie" was a stretch too far for me, but the capsules I could do. We're all accustomed to taking pharmaceuticals these days, at least I knew where these capsules were coming from!
I started taking my placenta pills as directed soon after getting home from the hospital but I didn't really recognise the effects of them until a day when I didn't take them. I was feeling particularly low one evening when I realised I hadn't taken my afternoon capsules that day. I took them then. About two hours later I was feeling considerably better and it struck me that it must have been down to the capsules. I continued to take them regularly for the first six weeks after giving birth. My iron level on leaving hospital was a paltry 8, even after a blood transfusion. Four weeks after giving birth it was back up to 11. The doctors at the hospital were most impressed - and I think the capsules had a big role to play. Yes I was on iron tablets too, but supplementing with my body's own pregnancy-level hormones and vitamins had to have been a massive complement.
Perhaps it was a placebo effect, but I looked forward to my daily capsules. I took two in the morning, two at lunch and two in the evening for the first two or three weeks. Then I cut down to just the morning and the evening. And I really, truly felt they helped me a lot, both with my physical healing and with my own state of mind after a traumatic enough birth experience and a lot of heavy medication. I was quite sad to get to the bottom of the jar - but strong enough to continue without them.
If you're interested in placenta encapsulation, my advice is don't be shy, don't hold back - just do it. I've told all my friends and have been surprised that a lot of them thought about getting them but didn't for one reason or another. They are so worth it. And even if they do nothing for you, at least you'll have the option of them. Once you give birth, the placenta is taken away and disposed of - don't let all that goodness go to waste - make the most of it!
This post is not sponsored in any way - this is all just my opinion - but if you'd like to find out more, Harmony Yoga Ireland did mine for me and I was very pleased with the service - and the results.
I never realised you could do this in Ireland!
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