Comments on: Placentophagy and Other Fun Uses for Afterbirth! http://ecochildsplay.com/2009/04/14/placentophagy-and-other-fun-uses-for-afterbirth/ Green and Natural Parenting for Eco-Friendly Families Fri, 10 Feb 2012 19:34:27 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Cheryl http://ecochildsplay.com/2009/04/14/placentophagy-and-other-fun-uses-for-afterbirth/#comment-11412 Cheryl Tue, 27 Apr 2010 00:38:11 +0000 http://ecochildsplay.com/?p=3577#comment-11412 To be more specific, here's some data one could access if she looks for it: 1. Baby blues - postpartum depression attributed to low levels of corticotropin-releasing hormone after placenta is gone; Discover; Dec 1995. 2. Chinese Herbal Medicine: Materia Medica. 3. Placenta as a Lactagogon; Gynaecologia 138: 617-627, 1954. 4. Placenta ingestion by rats enhances δ- and κ-opioid antinociception, but suppresses μ-opioid antinociception; DiPirro, J.M. and Kristal M.B., Brain Research To be more specific, here’s some data one could access if she looks for it:

1. Baby blues – postpartum depression attributed to low levels of corticotropin-releasing hormone after placenta is gone; Discover; Dec 1995.

2. Chinese Herbal Medicine: Materia Medica.

3. Placenta as a Lactagogon; Gynaecologia 138: 617-627, 1954.

4. Placenta ingestion by rats enhances δ- and κ-opioid antinociception, but suppresses μ-opioid antinociception; DiPirro, J.M. and Kristal M.B., Brain Research

]]> By: Cheryl http://ecochildsplay.com/2009/04/14/placentophagy-and-other-fun-uses-for-afterbirth/#comment-11411 Cheryl Tue, 27 Apr 2010 00:35:50 +0000 http://ecochildsplay.com/?p=3577#comment-11411 "The thing is, there is no data on placentophagy for humans." The thing is, you're wrong. "Many people of the world have known the secret power of the placenta as a medicinal supplement. Among the Chinese and Vietnamese, it is a customary practice to prepare the placenta for consumption by the mother. The placenta is thought to be rich in nutrients that the mother needs to recover more readily from childbirth. In Italy, women have been known to eat parts of the placenta to help with lactation. Hungarian women bite the placenta to expedite the completion of labor. And knowledgeable midwives in this country have their birth mothers take bites of raw placenta to help stop hemorrhaging, due to its beneficial oxytocin content." from: Placenta for Healing by Jodi Selander Also, it's important to note that the National Institutes of Health (NIH) is currently conducting studies on placentophagy and Traditional Chinese Medicine has been using placenta as food medicine for thousands of years. “The thing is, there is no data on placentophagy for humans.” The thing is, you’re wrong.

“Many people of the world have known the secret power of the placenta as a medicinal supplement. Among the Chinese and Vietnamese, it is a customary practice to prepare the placenta for consumption by the mother. The placenta is thought to be rich in nutrients that the mother needs to recover more readily from childbirth. In Italy, women have been known to eat parts of the placenta to help with lactation. Hungarian women bite the placenta to expedite the completion of labor. And knowledgeable midwives in this country have their birth mothers take bites of raw placenta to help stop hemorrhaging, due to its beneficial oxytocin content.” from: Placenta for Healing by Jodi Selander

Also, it’s important to note that the National Institutes of Health (NIH) is currently conducting studies on placentophagy and Traditional Chinese Medicine has been using placenta as food medicine for thousands of years.

]]> By: At Home In The Water : Eco Child’s Play http://ecochildsplay.com/2009/04/14/placentophagy-and-other-fun-uses-for-afterbirth/#comment-11409 At Home In The Water : Eco Child’s Play Sun, 09 Aug 2009 22:45:35 +0000 http://ecochildsplay.com/?p=3577#comment-11409 [...] inches long! I was in such a state of calmness it’s hard to describe. After I delivered the placenta and cleaned up they were happy to tell me that I did not tear! I  felt great and was immediately [...] [...] inches long! I was in such a state of calmness it’s hard to describe. After I delivered the placenta and cleaned up they were happy to tell me that I did not tear! I  felt great and was immediately [...]

]]> By: » Placentophagy and Other Fun Uses for Afterbirth! Please Heed The Call http://ecochildsplay.com/2009/04/14/placentophagy-and-other-fun-uses-for-afterbirth/#comment-11408 » Placentophagy and Other Fun Uses for Afterbirth! Please Heed The Call Sat, 18 Apr 2009 00:02:15 +0000 http://ecochildsplay.com/?p=3577#comment-11408 [...] Read more of this story » [...] [...] Read more of this story » [...]

]]> By: Cate Nelson http://ecochildsplay.com/2009/04/14/placentophagy-and-other-fun-uses-for-afterbirth/#comment-11404 Cate Nelson Thu, 16 Apr 2009 21:42:58 +0000 http://ecochildsplay.com/?p=3577#comment-11404 Alina, that is a beautiful story! It does mean a lot having it somewhere special, doesn't it? My sister and I planted ours when we were kids, though we were entirely grossed out and told no one for a while. ;) Kids! The boys' are going to be planted near mine. Alina, that is a beautiful story! It does mean a lot having it somewhere special, doesn’t it?
My sister and I planted ours when we were kids, though we were entirely grossed out and told no one for a while. ;) Kids!
The boys’ are going to be planted near mine.

]]> By: Alina Hensley http://ecochildsplay.com/2009/04/14/placentophagy-and-other-fun-uses-for-afterbirth/#comment-11405 Alina Hensley Thu, 16 Apr 2009 17:39:22 +0000 http://ecochildsplay.com/?p=3577#comment-11405 I'm from New York and moved to Arizona, which is where my daughter was born. I watched a baby saguaro grow beside our front patio- sprouted when I found out I was pregnant and just kept growing. About two months ago we found out we would need to relocate back to New York, and I knew I couldn't take that cactus with me, so I uprooted it and planted it with her placenta in the garden/chicken yard of her Godfather's family's little farm (because she, now two and a half, loved feeding those chickens so much!) I'm glad that they're still 'in the family' and no matter what happens or where we end up, I know they'll always be somewhere we loved with people who loved us! I’m from New York and moved to Arizona, which is where my daughter was born. I watched a baby saguaro grow beside our front patio- sprouted when I found out I was pregnant and just kept growing. About two months ago we found out we would need to relocate back to New York, and I knew I couldn’t take that cactus with me, so I uprooted it and planted it with her placenta in the garden/chicken yard of her Godfather’s family’s little farm (because she, now two and a half, loved feeding those chickens so much!) I’m glad that they’re still ‘in the family’ and no matter what happens or where we end up, I know they’ll always be somewhere we loved with people who loved us!

]]> By: Cate Nelson http://ecochildsplay.com/2009/04/14/placentophagy-and-other-fun-uses-for-afterbirth/#comment-11407 Cate Nelson Tue, 14 Apr 2009 15:07:33 +0000 http://ecochildsplay.com/?p=3577#comment-11407 The thing is, there is no data on placentophagy for humans. Though it have been revered in some cultures, it is quite rare until recent "acceptance" in certain circles. Anemia, I could *maybe* understand. For me, it would have to be if I were away from "civilization" and had just given birth with nothing else to sustain me. I could also understand searing a sirloin and eating some greens. Those are what my body craved, perhaps because of the ancient mammalian tradition. As far as human tradition goes, it is such a rare case it's not worth us citing as good reasons to continue to perform this ritual. Most Westerners, almost without exception, are far removed from this past. And for the sisters who cooked it up, I stick by my disgust at what they prepared. I wouldn't eat that no matter what meat it was. It was like Quiznos/an Italian buffet gone bad. Not healthy or appetizing at all. The thing is, there is no data on placentophagy for humans. Though it have been revered in some cultures, it is quite rare until recent “acceptance” in certain circles.
Anemia, I could *maybe* understand. For me, it would have to be if I were away from “civilization” and had just given birth with nothing else to sustain me. I could also understand searing a sirloin and eating some greens. Those are what my body craved, perhaps because of the ancient mammalian tradition. As far as human tradition goes, it is such a rare case it’s not worth us citing as good reasons to continue to perform this ritual. Most Westerners, almost without exception, are far removed from this past.
And for the sisters who cooked it up, I stick by my disgust at what they prepared. I wouldn’t eat that no matter what meat it was. It was like Quiznos/an Italian buffet gone bad. Not healthy or appetizing at all.

]]> By: flowers http://ecochildsplay.com/2009/04/14/placentophagy-and-other-fun-uses-for-afterbirth/#comment-11406 flowers Tue, 14 Apr 2009 13:54:49 +0000 http://ecochildsplay.com/?p=3577#comment-11406 It's very biologically normal to eat your placenta after giving birth, especially if it was a particularly difficult birth or if there was a significant amount of blood loss or if the mom struggled with anemia. Personally I didn't partake (though I would of had I bled) b/c we had a lotus birth, where we kept the baby attached to the placenta until it fell off on it's own. It’s very biologically normal to eat your placenta after giving birth, especially if it was a particularly difficult birth or if there was a significant amount of blood loss or if the mom struggled with anemia.

Personally I didn’t partake (though I would of had I bled) b/c we had a lotus birth, where we kept the baby attached to the placenta until it fell off on it’s own.

]]>