Photo by Megan Brown Photography
I remember the first time I heard about women eating their placentas. I was watching Pregnant in Heels on Bravo and the host made a placenta smoothie for one of her clients. I thought it was totally gross. Why on earth would anyone want to do that?? Well, now I feel like I need to apologize to that mom for judging her, because there are some pretty compelling reasons to consume your placenta.
I have two kids who are equally amazing, but their entrances into this world could not have been more different. My son's birth was traumatic and I had a very difficult time coping afterwards. I wasn't eating. I was barely able to take care of myself and my son. Everything was overwhelming. Fortunately with the love and support of my family I got through that time. When I became pregnant a second time, I knew I wanted things to be different. Honestly, I was terrified that I would go through postpartum depression again.
I have two kids who are equally amazing, but their entrances into this world could not have been more different. My son's birth was traumatic and I had a very difficult time coping afterwards. I wasn't eating. I was barely able to take care of myself and my son. Everything was overwhelming. Fortunately with the love and support of my family I got through that time. When I became pregnant a second time, I knew I wanted things to be different. Honestly, I was terrified that I would go through postpartum depression again.
Here's where my placenta came in. Now...I am a doula and have a few hippie tendencies, but I am all for evidence-based practices and medicine. I was fairly skeptical about the whole placenta pill thing, to be honest. I really appreciated how up front Becca (who was my doula for my daughter's birth) was about the lack of proper research that existed on placentophagy. She told me what women had reported about their own experiences and left it for me to decide what to do.
I decided to take the pills...because if it helped me avoid feeling like I did after my son was born, it would be worth it. Becca encapsulated my placenta and a few days after I gave birth I received around 200 pills. They weren't gross at all. It was just like taking any other supplement in a capsule. As soon as I got the pills I started taking them every day.
So what's the verdict? Personally, I believe that they helped me a great deal. The first few weeks postpartum were nothing like what I had gone through before. I actually felt pretty amazing. I wasn't weepy. I didn't have the anxiety that plagued me after my son was born. I could function and I could bond with my new baby. It took me by surprise how easy it was.
I can't say whether it was a placebo effect or not. It really doesn't matter to me, to be honest. Either way it was effective and I would do it again in a heartbeat. Truthfully, I would be willing do much more difficult things than having my placenta encapsulated if it meant avoiding postpartum depression. It was completely worth it and I would encourage any pregnant woman to give it a try. Talk to Becca, because she won't steer you wrong!
Take care,
Sarah Weaver
sarahisadoula.com
I decided to take the pills...because if it helped me avoid feeling like I did after my son was born, it would be worth it. Becca encapsulated my placenta and a few days after I gave birth I received around 200 pills. They weren't gross at all. It was just like taking any other supplement in a capsule. As soon as I got the pills I started taking them every day.
So what's the verdict? Personally, I believe that they helped me a great deal. The first few weeks postpartum were nothing like what I had gone through before. I actually felt pretty amazing. I wasn't weepy. I didn't have the anxiety that plagued me after my son was born. I could function and I could bond with my new baby. It took me by surprise how easy it was.
I can't say whether it was a placebo effect or not. It really doesn't matter to me, to be honest. Either way it was effective and I would do it again in a heartbeat. Truthfully, I would be willing do much more difficult things than having my placenta encapsulated if it meant avoiding postpartum depression. It was completely worth it and I would encourage any pregnant woman to give it a try. Talk to Becca, because she won't steer you wrong!
Take care,
Sarah Weaver
sarahisadoula.com
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