Ingesting Placenta products does NOT cure Postpartum Depression.

 

Several credible theories and mothers' and midwives' experiences support placentophagy, but evidence is limited, dated and inconclusive. Current and systematic research is needed. 

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Having your placenta encapsulated is not cannibalism. 

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Cannibalism is the eating of human flesh. Flesh is defined as being muscle and fat; placenta is neither and by definition, cannibalism is consumption of the flesh of someone or something that has been recently killed. Placentas, again, do not qualify.

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         Don't just animals consume placentas because they're hungry?

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"Cows which devour their placenta after the birth of the calf yield one liter of milk a day more than those which do not have access to the placenta. This method of treating hypogalactia seems worth noting since the placenta preparation is easily obtained, has not so far been utilized and in our experience is successful in the majority of women.”

Hypotheses explaining placentophagy have included hunger, a shift in food preferences towards carnivorousness, and the need to clean the area and avoid attracting predators. Although not empirically tested theories, these do not stand up to analysis because each explanation accounts for only a subgroup of mammals and mammalian placentophagy is almost universal (Kristal et al, 2011). In 1991, it was hypothesised that placentophagy provided immunological benefits by reducing maternal antibodies being produced in response to the fetus or any retained products of conception (Kristal, 1991).

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What about my milk supply?

 

“Powdered Placenta Hominis was used for 57 cases of insufficient lactation. Within
4 days, 48 women had markedly increased milk production, with the remainder
following suit over the next three days.” 

"All patients were given desiccated placenta prepared as previously described (C.A. II, 2492) in doses of 10 grains in a capsule 3 times a day. Only those mothers were chosen for the study whose parturition was normal and only the weights of those infants were recorded whose soul source of nourishment was mothers milk. The growth of 177 infants was studied. The rate of growth is increased by the ingestion of placenta by the mother… the maternal ingestion of dried placenta tissue so stimulates the tissues of the infants feeding on the milk produced during this time, that unit weight is able to add on greater increments of matter, from day to day, than can unit weight of infants feeding on milk from mothers not ingesting this substance.” 

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Will I really have more energy? 

 

“Because iron deficiency alters aerobic capacity and endurance,  as well as cognition and mood, it has the capacity to diminish productivity associated with both physical and intellectual work (Bodner, Cogswell and McDonald 39).”

 

“Postpartum fatigue is a debilitating condition that may have an impact on a new mother’s ability to care for her child (Troy, 2003). It also may delay a woman’s return to functional status in the areas of household, social, employment, and self-care responsibilities (Troy, 2003; McQueen & Mander, 2003) and increase her risk of postpartum depression (PPD) (Corwin and Arbour 216).”

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Iron deficiency anemia is common during pregnancy and the postpartum period, especially in young and lowincome women, and is linked to postpartum fatigue and poor health outcome.

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Is eating my placenta still considered vegan?

 

Because no animal has suffered and the placenta was made in order to GIVE life rather than take it is considered vegan. ​

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 How long can I keep them?

 

Raw dried placenta capsules should be consumed within 6-12 months of encapsulation. TCM capsules can last indefinitely if stored in the freezer.

 

What are the risks?

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All placentas are labeled from the moment they are received, through the preparation process and on the final packaging. Similar to how you are given an ID bracelet in the hospital. I only prepare one placenta at a time, with proper OSHA standard sanitizing in between each preparation to ensure proper safety and delivery. As a meat, proper storage and handling procedures are followed in order to prevent infection. 

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         How does it help with recovery? 

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Intake of the placenta following birth in sufficient amounts causes a series of biochemical reactions resulting in an opioid release which has an analgesic effect. This lessens labor and birth pain, while having no effect on the mother’s caretaking activities of her baby.

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       Does it smell?

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I offer both in home encapsulation and on site at my own business. There is no smell from the pills you will be ingesting, some have reported having burps but this can be averted by having a flavored capsule or ingesting with a light snack.

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     Is it Kosher?

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Placentas do not have a regular status of meat, it is unclear whether it is permitted to eat them. A human being is not a forbidden species in the full sense, as mother's milk and human blood are kosher.

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  Isn't the placenta just a filter with toxins?

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 The Placenta does the work of several organs. 
-It secretes hormone like a gland
-It exhanges oxygen like a lung
-It filters blood like a kidney
-It removes toxins like a liver
-It breaks down nutrients like a stomach
-It protects from infection like an immune system

The placenta is not a filter that traps everything that can't get through, like an air filter. Those waste products and other things that the baby can't use are generally sent back out to the mother for removal.

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The female body contains many hormones that help pregnancies thrive, and get mothers ready for labor and birth. Around three days postpartum, those hormones usually take a huge nose dive, making it hard for the mother to bounce back and efficiently care for her child. Animals in the wild consume their placentas, not only to protect themselves from predators, but stop postpartum bleeding, and balance out their hormones so they can better care for their infants. The placenta contains estrogen, progesterone and testosterone, which work to stabilize the mood, decrease depression and normalize/stimulate libido.

The placenta also contains prolactin, which enhances the mothering instinct, and oxytocin, which increases mother/baby bonding and counteracts the production of stress hormones.

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"Baby Blues" occurs in 75-80% of new mothers 2-3 days postpartum with a peak at 7-10 days

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Signs "Baby Blues" may not be normal. 

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• Delusions or strange beliefs

• Hallucinations (seeing or hearing things that aren’t there)

• Feeling very irritated

• Hyperactivity

• Decreased need for or inability to sleep

• Paranoia and suspicion 

• Rapid mood swings

• Difficulty communicating at times

GET HELP IMMEDIATELY. Postpartum psychosis has a 5% infanticide and suicide rate along with the diagnosis, and the sooner the treatment, the better. 

Look for these signs to know when "baby blues" might be out of the range of normal symptoms

• become withdrawn, irritable, or inconsolable;

• display insecure attachment and behavioral problems;

• experience problems in cognitive, social, and emotional development;

• have a higher risk of anxiety disorders and major depression in childhood and adolescence.

• Fathers can also be depressed in the postpartum period, especially if:

• the mother is depressed or if the father is not satisfied with the marital relationship or with life after the birth of the child

•  presence of both repetitive obsessions (intrusive and persistent thoughts or mental images) and compulsions (repetitive behaviors performed with the intention of reducing the obsessions), as well as a sense of horror about these thoughts.

• The most common obsession is thoughts or mental images of harming or even killing one's own baby.  The most frequent compulsion is bathing the baby often or changing the child's clothes.

• feelings of extreme anxiety and recurring panic attacks, including shortness of breath, chest pain, heart palpitations, agitation, and excessive worry or fears

• three common fears experience by women with a PPD are- fear of dying, fear of losing control, and a feart hat one is going crazy. 

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