# Placenta Encapsulation



## spencerbear

Has anyone else considered doing this? I have previously suffered with PND and doing this is meant to help reduce it.


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## Sophist

My husband is encouraging me to try it. I'm really not sure how one goes about doing it though.


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## spencerbear

apparenlty there are a couple of ways. either you by a kit or do it yourself or get someone to collect the placenta and do it for you. In the uk, there is someone close to me who encapsulates it for £150.

They say on the information i have read that it will also give you more energy and help with milk production.


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## mrsmo7

I know someone who had suffered previously with PPD that did this and she said she felt fabulous! not just no PPD but she felt really well! more energy etc. so it worked for her. If you have suffered through PPD before i would say it is worth a try? x


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## cupcake23

I learn so much from BnB, I've never heard of Placenta Encapsulation but it sounds interesting. 

If your up for it I don't see why not.


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## bubbles

I plan on doing it this time, if you google it there are instructions. I wouldn't say I suffered with PND (others would disagree) but I did get quite low after DS birth. There is a member on here who has done it before


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## mama.bear

spencerbear said:


> Has anyone else considered doing this? I have previously suffered with PND and doing this is meant to help reduce it.

i realize this thread is a cpl wks old already but i needed to share some info... after talking with my doula (_no MW's where i'm from, well, there's a cpl but they're hours away, my doula rocks tho_ :) ) i've decided to go ahead and have her encapsulate my placenta. the potential benefits far outweigh the 'ew' factor, at least for me. i vaguely know the process of how to do it, but it's something she will do for me, one of her services, to so speak.
depression runs in my fam and there have been periods of a really light depression and more marked mood swings etc and with a partner who works away [email protected] time; i'm alone alot and whilst he'll be home for a cpl wks after babe arrives, so i'm worried that i might get really down before he leaves or get overwhelmed after he goes back to work and i'm doing everything alone and end up with depression. from what i've heard taking the placenta as a supplement is a WONDERFUL way to treat PPD, increases milk supply, gives more energy, balances hormones :) , and aids in a speedier healing of your bottom/reduces length of time to stop bleeding from 4-6wks to around 1!!!!!! sweet :)

find out if anyone in your area does this.. maybe a MW or a doula could/would do this as part of their services... 
if you're drawn to trying this, go with your instinct cause it's probably guiding you to something that would be good for you! good luck! 

https://www.vivantemidwifery.com/placenta.html

bLess x


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## Sophist

I've been talking with my mw about it. Here in the US, if anyone encapsulates your placenta besides you, they have to be licensed with the health department to do it.


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## mama.bear

Sophist said:


> I've been talking with my mw about it. Here in the US, if anyone encapsulates your placenta besides you, they have to be licensed with the health department to do it.

interesting! makes sense tho... i'm in canada and don't think there are any regulations around that yere - yet - MW's just got legislated not too long ago and that's caused sooo many problems with the public having access to one, so little choice for mama's in terms of where they will birth and when there's no MW's, we have to use dr's and have hospital births cause dr's can't attend a homebirth. homebirths here are considered unattended and with 2 MW's for a million ppl where i live, it wasn't even an option for me, even tho i really wanted one.
ok - i got on a tangent there! little rant of frustration there in terms of not having many choices for birth location and options.

bless x


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## milkmachine

spencerbear said:


> apparenlty there are a couple of ways. either you by a kit or do it yourself or get someone to collect the placenta and do it for you. In the uk, there is someone close to me who encapsulates it for £150.
> 
> They say on the information i have read that it will also give you more energy and help with milk production.

is that the koala care lady? she is really lovely if its her she is based in sussex :D


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## milkmachine

i did this last time, i plan to do it again for myself and a close friend of mine too :D


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## kfarb

I'm thinking about doing this. But I don't think I'd tell my OB what I wanted it for. On the other hand, a few things I'm reading says check with your midwife or doctor and make sure the placenta is healthy to eat. 

So I don't know! I guess the Birth Center would need to know what I'm planning to do with it so they don't mess with it.


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## Sophist

mama.bear said:


> Sophist said:
> 
> 
> I've been talking with my mw about it. Here in the US, if anyone encapsulates your placenta besides you, they have to be licensed with the health department to do it.
> 
> interesting! makes sense tho... i'm in canada and don't think there are any regulations around that yere - yet - MW's just got legislated not too long ago and that's caused sooo many problems with the public having access to one, so little choice for mama's in terms of where they will birth and when there's no MW's, we have to use dr's and have hospital births cause dr's can't attend a homebirth. homebirths here are considered unattended and with 2 MW's for a million ppl where i live, it wasn't even an option for me, even tho i really wanted one.
> ok - i got on a tangent there! little rant of frustration there in terms of not having many choices for birth location and options.
> 
> bless xClick to expand...

Yeah apparently there was a birth center somewhere in the South that was encapsulating placentas and the health department came in and found that in any capsule there was material from over 100 placentas! They shut down the entire birth center and have started regulating. 

My choices are either do it myself, or hire someone for about $200 to do it for me. Although really I'm not sold on doing it yet.

Home birth...here in the US it varies by state. In my state, most MW who will attend home birth are lay midwives, not licensed ones although there are a few who are licensed.


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## Joyzerelly

I'm doing this, I can't find anyone in my area who can encapsulate it for me so I'm doing it myself. I've bought a large tupperware container with a lid and have disinfected it in preparation for my partner to put the placenta in it and whisk it straight out to the deep freezer so that I can deal with it a few days after the birth. If you google it and have a good read you should be able to find a fair bit of information and if you're lucky someone in your area who can prepare the placenta for you. If you decide to do it yourself though, I found this 'recipe' online.
_
Placenta Encapsulation Process

It is ideal for your placenta to be encapsulated within 3 days after birth. If this is not possible, your placenta should be frozen as soon after birth as possible, then it can be thawed and prepared at any time after that. 
Typically, I come to your home 1-3 days after birth. For the Preparation (Part 1), I spend about 2 hours in your home, usually in the morning. I bless your placenta and give thanks for the work it has done and will continue to do, then prepare it for steaming. You are welcome and invited to participate in as much of the process as you like.

From your kitchen, I need the following supplies:
* a cutting board (that you don't care if it gets placenta blood on it)
* a sharp knife
* a large pot

I bring a lemon, ginger and jalapeno, and the gel capsules that the dried and ground placenta will be put into. The placenta is steamed along with the lemon, ginger, and jalapeno for about 30 minutes. Then I slice it very thin and spread the strips on a foil-lined cookie sheet. It needs to bake in your oven on the very lowest setting possible for about 8 or more hours. If you have a food dehydrator, that's even better. After it is dried out, it needs to be ground up. 

For the Grinding (Part 2), the dried strips need to be ground by hand into a coarse powder using a mortar and pestle, then finished in an electric grinder. The fine powder is then put into the gel caps, and the capsules are stored in a jar.

Step-by-Step 
Thanks to the internet and a friend that I made from an online forum who shared with me her experience with preparing placenta, this is what I learnt to do with it:
First, you have to freeze or chill the placenta as soon as possible after delivery. As my second child was born at home, I really wanted to chuck it into the freezer right after it popped out but my doctor indicated that he wanted to examine the placenta at the hospital so my doula put it into a freezer bag with ice packs (which she had prepared in advance) and took it to the hospital for us. She later took it home to freeze it for us and then sent it back to my place after my discharge from the hospital.


Cleaning it 
Next, you have to clean it really well. If chilled, prepare the placenta as soon as possible to ensure freshness. If frozen, do allow time to thaw completely. My confinement nanny graciously helped me to do this. We werent really sure if there was a proper method of washing the placenta so we just rinsed it several times until the water ran clear (slightly pink instead of dark red). There was a huge blood clot/bloody tissue which my nanny threw away but in retrospect, I wasnt sure if we were supposed to keep that piece of blood piece.
Now, some people find the smell of placenta a little urrgh, so the nice folks at Eu Yan Sang (actually somebody called Mr Ang who is quite knowledgeable about placenta preparation) gave me a small packet of herbs to use with it:
After squeezing half a lemon over the placenta and adding a capful of DOM (if you like), throw the herbs over the placenta together with a few slices of ginger (all these will help to dispel the unpleasant smell).
The next thing to do is to steam it over low heat for 20 minutes on each side (i.e. you steam it for 20 minutes, then turn the placenta over and steam again for another 20 minutes):
Now what you need to do is to wait for it to cool down a bit and then slice it into thin pieces  as thin as you can  sort of like making beef jerky:
Place the placenta strips on wax paper or a metal tray to dry out in the sun (best method), in an air-conditioned room but do watch out for dust and ants or in a food dehydrator/oven on lowest setting.
You have to make sure that the strips are completely dry. One good indicator is that the strips should feel brittle to the touch before pounding them into powder for consumption. Some people choose to eat this powder by adding it to soup while cooking. I preferred to have it sent to Eu Yan Sang where they powdered the dried strips for me and then encapsulated the powder together with some ginseng for my consumption:
Tip: Try encapsulating the placenta powder together with some ginseng (pao sheng) or cordyceps if you dont want the smell of placenta to be too overpowering..
And there you go, voila, you could swallow your placenta in tablet form and not have the queasy feeling of sinking your teeth into a nice, juicy, thick steak of placenta. Bon apetit!
_


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## kfarb

So there is no one in my area that does this! I really want to do it, but I just don't know if I can do it myself! So frustrating! I emailed a few doulas and midwives asking if maybe they did it or knew someone who did. Only one's responded so far, she said she didn't do it, and said she thought it was a complicated procedure that required training. :growlmad: Whatever.


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## milkmachine

Joyzerelly said:


> I'm doing this, I can't find anyone in my area who can encapsulate it for me so I'm doing it myself. I've bought a large tupperware container with a lid and have disinfected it in preparation for my partner to put the placenta in it and whisk it straight out to the deep freezer so that I can deal with it a few days after the birth. If you google it and have a good read you should be able to find a fair bit of information and if you're lucky someone in your area who can prepare the placenta for you. If you decide to do it yourself though, I found this 'recipe' online.
> _
> Placenta Encapsulation Process
> 
> It is ideal for your placenta to be encapsulated within 3 days after birth. If this is not possible, your placenta should be frozen as soon after birth as possible, then it can be thawed and prepared at any time after that.
> Typically, I come to your home 1-3 days after birth. For the Preparation (Part 1), I spend about 2 hours in your home, usually in the morning. I bless your placenta and give thanks for the work it has done and will continue to do, then prepare it for steaming. You are welcome and invited to participate in as much of the process as you like.
> 
> From your kitchen, I need the following supplies:
> * a cutting board (that you don't care if it gets placenta blood on it)
> * a sharp knife
> * a large pot
> 
> I bring a lemon, ginger and jalapeno, and the gel capsules that the dried and ground placenta will be put into. The placenta is steamed along with the lemon, ginger, and jalapeno for about 30 minutes. Then I slice it very thin and spread the strips on a foil-lined cookie sheet. It needs to bake in your oven on the very lowest setting possible for about 8 or more hours. If you have a food dehydrator, that's even better. After it is dried out, it needs to be ground up.
> 
> For the Grinding (Part 2), the dried strips need to be ground by hand into a coarse powder using a mortar and pestle, then finished in an electric grinder. The fine powder is then put into the gel caps, and the capsules are stored in a jar.
> 
> Step-by-Step
> Thanks to the internet and a friend that I made from an online forum who shared with me her experience with preparing placenta, this is what I learnt to do with it:
> First, you have to freeze or chill the placenta as soon as possible after delivery. As my second child was born at home, I really wanted to chuck it into the freezer right after it popped out but my doctor indicated that he wanted to examine the placenta at the hospital so my doula put it into a freezer bag with ice packs (which she had prepared in advance) and took it to the hospital for us. She later took it home to freeze it for us and then sent it back to my place after my discharge from the hospital.
> 
> 
> Cleaning it
> Next, you have to clean it really well. If chilled, prepare the placenta as soon as possible to ensure freshness. If frozen, do allow time to thaw completely. My confinement nanny graciously helped me to do this. We werent really sure if there was a proper method of washing the placenta so we just rinsed it several times until the water ran clear (slightly pink instead of dark red). There was a huge blood clot/bloody tissue which my nanny threw away but in retrospect, I wasnt sure if we were supposed to keep that piece of blood piece.
> Now, some people find the smell of placenta a little urrgh, so the nice folks at Eu Yan Sang (actually somebody called Mr Ang who is quite knowledgeable about placenta preparation) gave me a small packet of herbs to use with it:
> After squeezing half a lemon over the placenta and adding a capful of DOM (if you like), throw the herbs over the placenta together with a few slices of ginger (all these will help to dispel the unpleasant smell).
> The next thing to do is to steam it over low heat for 20 minutes on each side (i.e. you steam it for 20 minutes, then turn the placenta over and steam again for another 20 minutes):
> Now what you need to do is to wait for it to cool down a bit and then slice it into thin pieces  as thin as you can  sort of like making beef jerky:
> Place the placenta strips on wax paper or a metal tray to dry out in the sun (best method), in an air-conditioned room but do watch out for dust and ants or in a food dehydrator/oven on lowest setting.
> You have to make sure that the strips are completely dry. One good indicator is that the strips should feel brittle to the touch before pounding them into powder for consumption. Some people choose to eat this powder by adding it to soup while cooking. I preferred to have it sent to Eu Yan Sang where they powdered the dried strips for me and then encapsulated the powder together with some ginseng for my consumption:
> Tip: Try encapsulating the placenta powder together with some ginseng (pao sheng) or cordyceps if you dont want the smell of placenta to be too overpowering..
> And there you go, voila, you could swallow your placenta in tablet form and not have the queasy feeling of sinking your teeth into a nice, juicy, thick steak of placenta. Bon apetit!
> _



i didnt find that it smelt unpleasant, it smelt like birth which i found oddly comforting. 

i took photos as i did mine, they might be helpful too you? https://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=336636&id=677785575&l=11d3fffc1e


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## bubbles

oh milkmachine I love looking at your placenta prints. They are so pretty


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## milkmachine

i have 25 of them i should get them all scanned in really incase something happens (fire/flood/etc) so glad i did it, totally healing and am looking forward to doing it again


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## Joyzerelly

Here's another good website:

https://placentalove.blogspot.com/2009/11/welcome-to-placenta-apothecary.html


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