Here’s more about the WONDERFUL benefits of Placenta Encapsulation! The article below refers to the other article I posted about January Jones eating her placenta.
It is very unfortunate that stated in the article a woman wanted to take her placenta home was not able to so. I feel its VERY important that we remember that hospitals are businesses who’s goal it is to provide services to their community and make money doing so.
WE as women need to be the ones who speak up to our care providers BEFORE we deliver to make sure our requests are followed through with. I have found that woman are getting much BETTER results creating the birth/postpartum care they desire when they have spent the months before educating themselves and preparing by speaking up to the doctors and the nurses at the hospitals they are going to deliver at.
Let me reiterate that not ONE of the mama’s whom I have ingested their encapsulated placentas have had any negative things to say. It seems that unless we have scientific evidence to back something up then we shouldn’t experiment with something and try it for ourselves. I wholehearedly disagree with this line of thinking.
Self exploration and experimentation is all about educating ourselves, then listening to our own inspiration and moving ahead with that choice despite how different or weird it may sound. I remember in the beginning of my mothering, there were many practices we were doing in our home that were NOT consider mainstream in the least. But I forged ahead doing things that are NOW considered more mainstream. I did them because I followed by heart and read enough information to know it was right and safe for my family.
Truthfully, the only feedback I get is the positive changes taking place for them because of ingesting their placentas. Its truly MAGNIFICENT! And honestly, I wouldn’t believe it myself if I didn’t see it and hear it. Try it for yourself. I don’t believe for a second you’ll be disappointed. Remember Intuitive Self Exploration is the IDEAL for find what works for you!
I have a video below that also shares more about placenta encapsulation and the rewards of one woman. Heads up, I do not use the Traditional Chinese method in my placenta encapsulation and I only ask for $150 donation. 🙂
Mad Men’s Star Eats Placenta, Fad or Health Benefit?By Deborah Mitchell on March 29, 2012 – 6:11am
When Mad Men’s star January Jones recently announced she has been taking capsules containing the placenta (afterbirth) of her recently born son, Xander, she shed light on placentophagia, a common practice among non-human mammals, yet among humans…not so much. While there are many thoughts that can race through your mind when you think about eating the placenta, near the top of the list is “why?” Is this a fad or are there health benefits?
Placentophagia has possible health benefits
At the University of Buffalo and Buffalo State College, a team of neuroscientists, under direction of Mark Kristal, PhD, professor of psychology and neuroscience, have suggested that human mothers who ingest the placenta may experience some health benefits.
Kristal, who has been studying placentophagia for more than 40 years, explains in his article, “Placentophagia in Human and Nonhuman Mammals: Causes and Consequences,” that this practice among non-human mammals is associated with initiating caretaking behaviors and promotes mother-infant interaction.
Given the problems associated with human childbirth, including postpartum depression, hostility of mothers against their infants, and failure to bond, Kristal noted that ingesting the afterbirth may provide new mothers with components, such as hormones, that may relieve these problems.
Thus far, however, no empirical studies have been conducted, even though ingesting the placenta is practiced by some women in China, Vietnam, and Italy. Kristal pointed out that “if such studies are undertaken, the results, if positive, will be medically relevant. If the results are negative, speculations and recommendations will persist, as it is not possible to prove the negative.”
Research on placentophagia is also being conducted at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, by Dr. Daniel Benyshek, associate professor of anthropology, and his research team, including Jodi Selander, founder of Placenta Benefits, an organization that helps women encapsulate their placenta. They are investigating the components of the placenta and the possible beneficial health effects and/or risks of placentophagia on postpartum maternal health.
Placentophagia and anecdotal evidence
Without scientific proof that consuming the afterbirth has health benefits, women who want to pursue this practice are left with anecdotal evidence, and that appears to be enough for some new mothers, like January Jones, who are turning in increasing numbers to having their placenta dried and encapsulated as supplements.
Without scientific proof that consuming the afterbirth has health benefits, women who want to pursue this practice are left with anecdotal evidence, and that appears to be enough for some new mothers, like January Jones, who are turning in increasing numbers to having their placenta dried and encapsulated as supplements.
A woman’s plan to have her placenta encapsulated does not always work out, however, as experienced by Michelle Pfenninghaus, CHC (certified health coach), who lives in Virginia. After giving birth, the hospital held her placenta in their morgue, and she was told she would need to hire (and pay for) an undertaker to retrieve it.
After failing to find a funeral home that would honor her request, and while still searching for help, her placenta spoiled in the morgue refrigerator. In retrospect, she said, “I would have chosen a hospital with a system in place to honor a mother’s request for her placenta, and not just for burial/ceremonial purposes.” Pfenninghaus also noted that she developed postpartum depression.
Indeed, one of the reasons women give for wanting to consume the placenta are reports from other new mothers who say they feel better emotionally as quickly as after their first dose. Placentophagia may be an antidote to the baby blues and postpartum depression.
Placenta encapsulation and other methods
Pfenninghaus’ desire to encapsulate her placenta is an approach that has been taken up by women like Jodi Selander, who started Placenta Benefits in 2006 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The purpose of the organization “is to educate women and professional communities about the benefits of placentophagy (placenta ingestion) for postpartum recovery.”
Pfenninghaus’ desire to encapsulate her placenta is an approach that has been taken up by women like Jodi Selander, who started Placenta Benefits in 2006 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The purpose of the organization “is to educate women and professional communities about the benefits of placentophagy (placenta ingestion) for postpartum recovery.”
One of the services provided by Placenta Benefits is a training course that teaches individuals how to properly handle, store, and prepare placentas for human consumption. The website also has an online directory of certified, trained Placenta Encapsulation Specialists in the United States, Canada, Australia, Puerto Rico, South Korea, Hong Kong, Germany, and the United Kingdom.
Drying and encapsulating the placenta is not the only way some mothers choose to eat the afterbirth. Recipes and tips on how to consume the placenta are circulating on the Internet and among women who want to share this experience.
Kristal noted that an anthropological question is “Why don’t humans engage in placentophagia as a biological imperative as so many other mammals apparently do?” For now, experts do not have the answer to this question, nor to many others surrounding the practice of placentophagia among humans.
Is eating the placenta a fad or does it provide health benefits for women? For now, the jury is still out.
SOURCES:
Kristal M et al. Placentophagia in human and nonhuman mammals: causes and consequences. Ecology of Food and Nutrition 2012 Mar; 51(2)
Placenta Benefits
Kristal M et al. Placentophagia in human and nonhuman mammals: causes and consequences. Ecology of Food and Nutrition 2012 Mar; 51(2)
Placenta Benefits
