Many people reach out to us to ask, “Should I eat my placenta?”
They want more information, or they want to talk about how their friends or family made them feel about the idea.
Think consuming your placenta is weird?
Here’s a doula confession- so do I, but I still did it. TWICE.
Then why would I eat my placenta?
I was raised in America where the message was loud and clear. Consuming your placenta is weird. I consumed the culture around me. Until I didn’t.
As I ventured into parenting, I started to question those things which I had previously accepted blindly. The more I questioned, the more I realized culture was the source of many of my feelings. This doesn’t mean something is innately good or bad.
We believe lots of things are normal while others are totally gross. But we hold these beliefs because our culture told us to feel that way.
Need some examples of how culture messes with your mind?
People in other cultures eat bugs, we are repulsed.
We like cheese, other cultures find that revolting.
Organ meat is known to be packed with nutrients, but the standard American diet rarely includes these meats.
Many consume the genetic building blocks of chickens without giving it a second thought.
We think drinking milk from the teat of another animal is totally acceptable. Yet women are still harassed for publicly feeding their human babies from their human breasts.
As I grew tiny humans, I decided to started parenting from a place of personal faith and extensive research. If you dig deep enough, you may find that your parenting philosophies don’t align with the culturally acceptable standard practices.
For me, this included the idea that I should eat my placenta.
I did it because I believe in the healing and supportive properties of the placenta. I believe that because we are animals, and all other mammals consume their placentas, there is sure to be some biological benefit to consuming the placenta after delivery.
I also know placentophagy, commonly known as consuming placenta, has been used in Traditional Chinese Medicine for at least 2,000 years.
I learned that consuming one’s placenta is thought to have many benefits.
The placenta is a source of natural hormones, trace elements and amino acids. Once a milk supply has been established, it is thought to support milk production. It has been associated with improved maternal mood. Some even feel more emotionally balanced as a result of consuming their placenta.
Having had two postpartum experiences which included placenta consumption and one which did not, I can attest to the fact that my recovery, milk supply, energy and postpartum experience was far better during the postpartum periods in which I also consumed my placenta.
It’s not just for consumption.
Did you know that placenta has been used in many beauty products?
Pharmaceutical companies are using placenta to treat the symptoms of menopause. The placenta’s healing properties are being celebrated as they are used to help heal the eye after eye surgery, major injuries and burns.
Women’s beauty creams have been known to include human placental material and the placenta of other mammals. It’s not just beauty creams though. Some shampoos contain placenta too. Check your shampoo labels for materials such as hyaluronic acid, collagen-elastin complex, glucosaminoglycans, alkaline phosphatase, and placental extract which could all point to the use of placental materials.
Is it weird? Maybe. Does that mean you shouldn’t do it? Well, I think you know my answer.
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