Placental Encapsulation

[Pat Robinson]

I've wanted to have some healthy placenta for about three years now.   Finding someone who'll share their placenta AND who has a pristine diet and health is another thing...

My wonderful friend offered to share some of her placenta when she birthed recently in exchange for the gift of preparing it for her in the traditional Chinese way.  (I'll include instructions below.)  I want to encourage women to consider embracing the benefits of placenta consumption postpartum.  

Preparation is actually quite easy, similar to preparing corned beef, perhaps.   It looks and tastes like roast beef and can be dehydrated and placed in those little gelatin capsules for easy swallowing.  Additionally, there are many women supporting birthing mothers who will provide the service of properly preparing your placenta for you.

 

You can Find a Placenta Specialist HERE.  And learn more about the Placenta Benefits.

 

 

Pat

 

P.S. I'll post photos of the beautiful placenta preparation soon.

 

Here are another friend's (Andrea Barclay) instructions and recipes collected from many traditional sources:

 

[[[ I use this recipe, but without the added ingredients, and at 170 degrees:

"Cut off the cord and membranes. Steam the placenta, adding lemon grass, pepper and ginger to the steaming water. The placenta is "done" when no blood comes out when you pierce it with a fork. Cut the placenta into thin slices (like making jerky) and bake in a low-heat oven (200-250 degrees F), until it is dry and crumbly (several hours). Crush the placenta into a powder using a food processor, blender, mortar and pestle, or by putting it in a bag and grinding it with rocks. Put the powder into empty gel caps or just add a spoonful to your cereal, blender drink, etc. The recommended doses vary, some suggest up to 4 capsules a day, others just one. Perhaps the best advice is to take what makes you feel good."

I have also cut the placenta in half, and dehydrated half, and cut the other half into one inch square chunks and flash froze, then put into a baggie so the mom could ingest in smoothies.

As you can see, there's really not much to it. :) It takes a bit of effort and a sharp knife to separate a placenta from its membranes though! Also, I use a blander rather than a mortar and pestle since I have FMS and that would be way to much on my arms.

I got the idea from a midwife friend, Whapio. She gave me the following article:

When making placenta medicine, the energetic vibrations from this life-giving “meat” are quite strong. Therefore you may attract any number and assortment of beings. Be aware.

Any medicines taken by motherbaby during birth and the immediate postpartum will be found in the placenta and make it unsuitable for ingestion.

Each placenta weighs approximately 1/6 of the baby's weight. (Mothering Magazine, Sept. 1983) If using for food, rinse off excess blood and cut the meat away from the membranes with a sharp knife. However some medicinal recipes do include the cord and membranes.

Hemorrhage Preventer
-You would chew a piece after birth to stop bleeding. Just enough to have it soak through your mucus membranes in your mouth should be enough.

Retained Lobe/Membrane Remedy
-Hold a piece of placenta under the tongue.

Medicine to Combat Depression, Balance Hormones, and Maintain MotherBaby connection
-Partaking of it afterward (the "placenta shake", the dried placenta in capsules, the tincture, etc) is used to combat postpartum depression.

-For maximum benefit the placenta should not be cooked in view of the loss of nutrients etc. The placenta is therefore best dissected into small palatable morsels and consumed as such.

-Cut a lobe up into little pill size pieces and keep them in the fridge or freezer. Then when the woman is feeling down she can just put one under her tongue, she doesn't even need to eat it. If this is still too "icky" for mom, you can also freeze dry it, crush and put into capsules. This PPD remedy apparently takes around 3 minutes to work.

-Placenta Shake: whiz in the blender & mix with juice or yogurt. This does retain more of its nutrients.

-Placenta Cocktail: 1/4 cup raw placenta, 8oz V-8 juice, 1/2 cup carrot. Blend at high speed for 10 seconds.

-I honestly think you get far less benefit if you cook the placenta, though I do think that low-temperature dehydrating is fine.

-Dry it in the oven (200 degrees on a cookie sheet for as long as it takes, turning it over often) then pulverize it, seal in capsules.

-Freeze the placenta. Defrost partially so there are still some ice crystals & the meat is still firm. Using a sharp knife, remove as much of the membranes & cord as possible. Slice placenta very thin, almost like shavings.
Lay on unbleached paper towels or parchment paper on a rack. If somebody has a toaster oven with a “dehydrator" setting, or an actual food dehydrator, great. If not the oven will work at 250. The process takes several hours either way. The slices need to be fully dry, but not burned. (when done, they will break when you try to bend them)

Removing them, some of the paper toweling will stick. Get off what you can. The rest will take care of itself during grinding. Put the pieces into a coffee grinder or Vitamix. Whiz into powder. Any leftover paper or membranes will rise to the top, like a dry foam. Throw that away.

Using a capper from the health food store, fill capsules. We find 100 "00" caps +/- a few is about average.
What most of our moms say is that they just feel good. One mom who gets pretty aggro. & wants to be left alone with her babies, not bothered for any reason by anybody told us she didn't have those intense feelings with the medicine.

Dosage: this is really very individual as with all energetic medicines. 20 mins before eating or one hour after eating. Usually beginning around day 3.

Start with one or two caps when you wake for the day. See how you feel. What do you notice? Anything, nothing? Maybe another couple before lunch. If they are working well maybe even a few more in the early afternoon. You may need more than 2 at a time. maybe 3 or 4. It's ok to play with the dosage. You will figure out what you need.

Please do not take late in day, or evenings. Several moms reported being unable to get to sleep after doing that.

-Cut off the cord and membranes. Steam the placenta, adding lemon grass, pepper and ginger to the steaming water. The placenta is "done" when no blood comes out when you pierce it with a fork. Cut the placenta into thin slices (like making jerky) and bake in a low-heat oven (200-250 degrees F), until it is dry and crumbly (several hours). Crush the placenta into a powder using a food processor, blender, mortar and pestle, or by putting it in a bag and grinding it with rocks. Put the powder into empty gel caps or just add a spoonful to your cereal, blender drink, etc. The recommended doses vary, some suggest up to 4 capsules a day, others just one. Perhaps the best advice is to take what makes you feel good. –“Thinking About Eating Your Placenta?" by Susan James.


-Traditional Chinese Medicine Placenta Preparation: According to Traditional Chinese Medicine, placenta is considered a powerful and sacred medicine, full of life force. Raven Lang, a midwife who studied Traditional Chinese Medicine, advises the use of placenta during the postpartum course to aid in recovery from childbirth. After the placenta is prepared it is taken in capsule form, 2 capsules at a time, with white wine. The wine is said to help disperse the energy of the placenta throughout the body. Women can take this dose up to three times a day, and continue until they no longer feel a need.

Remaining placenta can be saved and used homeopathically for those times when the child undergoes a separation from the mother. For example, when first learning to walk, or when weaning, or when going off to school or on a trip.

Human placenta is used to augment Qi and blood, and this will also help augment lactation.
The placenta is prepared into a powder and encapsulated, so it's not so undesirable. To prepare, it must be cooked. Cooking in TCM is an integral part of the formation and action of the medicine. Raw is generally considered cooling, so raw placenta is cooling, and I wouldn't recommend it as a general rule. Also, none of the actions of human placenta as I am describing it can be attributed to the raw placenta. Cooking it is part of making it what it is.

To cook, wash excess blood from the placenta. Place it in a steamer over water. Place with it fresh ginger slices, half a lemon and a hot pepper. Steam for 15 minutes, turn, and steam 15 more minutes until no juice comes out when pricked with a fork. (Steam over low heat, it has a tendency to boil over and that's a mess.) The membranes and cord may be cooked with the placenta. It is helpful to turn the placenta to "Schultz," i.e., wrapped inside the membrane when you cook it. It will shrink tremendously, and wrapped in the membranes makes it easy to deal with for the next step.

After steaming, slice the placenta in 1/8" strips, similar to making jerky. Slice as thin as possible. Place the strips on a cookie sheet and place it in an oven on the lowest possible setting for several hours until completely brittle-dry. (Again like jerky) Using a food dehydrator is even better, but will take longer. Powder the strips in a coffee grinder or Vitamix, and encapsulate. I advise clients to take two capsules three times a day for two weeks postpartum. It can be kept indefinitely, but is best kept in an airtight container in the freezer long term.

I have been preparing and giving placenta to women for 10 years. It is not recommended for everyone, but women who do want to take it have reported that they do not have trouble with postpartum depression and seem to heal quickly from any trauma experienced because of birth. While it is difficult to say that the placenta is responsible, there are physiological reasons that may be at work. The placenta is full of natural oxytocins which are responsible for contracting the uterus and minimizing postpartum bleeding. Also it contains hormones which have recently been shown to help in the relief of postpartum depression. Women who use placenta have said it makes them feel nurtured.

It takes about 12-16 hours to prepare the placenta according to the next recipe. The preparation is not difficult but one must keep in mind the powerful and sacred nature of the organ you are working with at all times.
Gently rinse the fresh placenta (it must not have been frozen, the fresher the better), keeping as much blood as possible. Steam the placenta for 15 minutes, then turn it over and steam for 15 more minutes. In the steaming water you must put a jalapeño pepper, some fresh ginger root and a slice of lime. When the placenta is finished steaming slice it into thin strips and place these in a dehydrator or your oven at its lowest temperature. Dry the strips until they are completely dry; they should snap. This generally takes about 8 to 10 hours. Your house will smell like placenta (women like this smell but men generally find it unpleasant). When the slices are completely dry, break them up into smaller chunks and then grind them into a fine powder.

Raven noted that any energy you have while working with the placenta will be absorbed into the medicine, so please keep yourself centered. This also applies to your mode of grinding-if you use a blender or electric grinder your placenta will have "blender energy." A mortar and pestle can be used or a hand grinder. You can also put the pieces in a paper bag and pound with a rock. When you have powdered the placenta keep it in a cool dark place in a glass jar tightly capped. It will keep indefinitely this way.

-Other gems from TCM: Human Placenta Ziheche
Human Placenta is the dried placenta of a healthy woman. The organ is removed from amnion and umbilical cord, washed repeatedly until free from blood, steamed or boiled in water for a moment, and dried. Eliminate dust, break to pieces or grind to fine powder.

Actions: to warm the kidney, to replenish vital essence, qi and blood. Reinforcing the kidney and nourishing the sperm, reinforcing the vital energy and enriching the blood.

It is used to treat poor health, night sweats, impotence and premature ejaculation, sterility, emaciation, a hectic fever, and poor milk production. Also indicated for cough, shortness of breath, and poor appetite accompanying a long-term illness.

Dose is 2-3 g, to be ground into powder for oral administration. To be taken orally,7-8 capsules each time, twice daily. Or dissolve with boiled water or yellow wine before taking. Children, decrease dosage accordingly. Preserve in a dry place, protected from moths.

-Another Chinese tradition states to char the placenta seven times, until it becomes a white ash. This refines and heightens its energy. Sprinkle on food, make a homeopathic tincture from it, fill caps…

-Doña Irene makes placenta tincture and gives it to women for PPD, retained placenta, and menopause symptoms.

-Tincturing: tincture fresh for best capturing the energy.

-One woman cut her daughter’s placenta into strips, dried slowly with her oven’s pilot light, then tinctured the dried pieces. She used it as a personalized “Rescue Remedy”.

-Placenta Essence: Take a small piece of the placenta and put it in distilled or spring water—must be pure water not just tap stuff—in a glass bowl or jar with a glass lid, those glass storage jars would work fine. Leave the jar in direct sunlight for at least four hours. The water then absorbs the vibrational properties of the placenta. After four or so hours bring the jar in and remove the placenta piece. Take the water, it will look rather like herbal tea because of the blood, and add equal amounts of Vodka or Brandy to preserve the essence water. Store this in a glass mason jar or amber bottle. This is now the "Mother Essence" and should last a lifetime. To use, you need to dilute further by filling a 1 or 2 oz. dropper bottle with 70 percent water and 30 percent Vodka or Brandy, then add 4-10 drops of the placenta mother essence and tap against your hand several times.
And that's it. I recommend taking seven drops under the tongue at least twice a day for at least 3 months. You can also use the essence for the baby as their very own unique "rescue remedy", although s/he will get it through your milk. You can put it directly on the baby's head (crown chakra) as well.

I have to say, I took my baby's essence religiously up until recently and didn't even get the "baby blues". It really works!!




Food Recipes—for amazing nutrients and some hormonal effects, as well

Many animals, including herbivores, routinely eat their placentas, as it replaces vitamins and minerals lost during the labor process. Many women who have tried it swear they feel better faster, and they do not suffer from postpartum depression because of the nutrients the placenta has given them. It has been called a 'harmless' meat, as no creature is killed to procure it. Placentas should only be eaten fresh, if this is something that appeals to you. (I.e. don’t let it sit in the fridge.) Be sure to honor this most sacred food, and let its energy dictate the preparation.

-Sautee liver-style with onions, garlic, and basil in olive oil, ghee or butter. (Substitute 1 t hing/asafoetida for the onions and make sure the garlic is browned well to avoid gas/colic.)

-I have fixed placenta stew, by chopping it up into bite sized pieces, coated with flour & simmered along with the usual stewing veggies.

- Placenta Stew: Meat of 3/4 placenta in bite size chunks, 1 potato (cubed), 1/4 cup fresh parsley, 2 carrots, 3 ribs celery, 1 zucchini, 1 large tomato, 1 small onion. Dredge meat in 1 tbl. flour mixed with 1 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp. paprika, pinch of cloves, pinch of pepper, 6-8 crushed coriander seeds. Saute meat in 2 tbl. oil, then add vegetables (cut up) and 4-5 cups of water. Bring to full boil, then simmer for 1 hour.

-Marinate overnight in garlic, worchestershire sauce, black pepper and liquid smoke. Then coat well with hickory or mesquite B-B-Q sauce. Grill on a good fire with some foil-wrapped baked potatoes, and sliced, buttered onions. Maybe a few squash shish-kabobs to round it out, and a Mesclun tossed salad with olive oil and rosemary dressing. Serve with a fine sherry.

-Curried Placenta Cous-cous: Cut placenta into stir fry sized pieces, brown in ghee (or oil) and set aside. Fry a large onion (halved and thinly sliced), add 2 cloves of finely-diced garlic, 2 tsp. grated ginger, 1 cinnamon stick, 2 bay leaves, 2 cloves, 2 cardamom pods, and 2 dried chilies. Fry for two to three minutes. Add 1 tbsp ground coriander, 3 tsp garam masala, 1 tsp turmeric. Pepper to taste. Add browned placenta, and enough water to just cover the mixture. Cover and simmer ‘til tender, 35-40 min. Add lemon juice to taste. Serve over freshly prepared, fluffy bed of cous-cous accompanied by a tart-sweet chutney. Present with a chilled Chateau le Rouge 1978

-Placenta Lasagne: Use your favorite lasagne recipe and substitute this mixture for one layer of cheese: In 2 tbl. olive oil, quickly saute meat of 3/4 placenta, ground or minced plus 2 sliced cloves of garlic, 1/2 tsp. oregano, 1/2 diced onion & 2 tbl. tomato paste, or 1 whole tomato.

- Placenta Spaghetti: Cut meat of 3/4 placenta into bite size pieces, then brown quickly in 1 tbl. butter plus 1 tbl. oil. Then add 1 large can tomato puree, 2 cans crushed pear tomatoes, 1 onion, 2 cloves of garlic, 1 tbl. molasses, 1 bay leaf, 1 tbl. rosemary, 1 tsp. ea. of salt, honey, oregano, basil, and fennel. Simmer 1 1/2 hours.

-Placenta Pizza: Grind placenta. Saute in 2 tbl. olive oil with 4 garlic cloves, then add 1/4 tsp fennel, 1/4 tsp. pepper, 1/4 tsp paprika, 1/4 tsp. salt, 1/2 tsp. oregano, 1/4 tsp. thyme, and 1/4 cup of wine. Allow to stand for 30 minutes, then use with your favorite home made pizza recipe. It's a fine placenta sausage topping.

-Roast Placenta: 1-3 lb fresh placenta (must be no more than 3 days old), 1 onion, 1 green or red pepper (green will add colour), 1 cup tomato sauce, 1 sleeve saltine crackers (or whole grain substitute), 2 or 3 bay leaves, 1 tspn black pepper, 1 tspn white pepper, 1 clove garlic (roasted and minced).

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Chop the onion and the pepper & crush the saltines into crumbs. In a large bowl, combine the placenta, onion, pepper, saltines, bay leaves, white and black pepper, garlic and tomato sauce. Place in a loaf pan, cover then bake for 1 ½ hours, occasionally pouring off excess liquid. This may be retained for a gravy base. Serve and enjoy!

Magick, Art, Botany, and Ritual

-Some Native tribes dried the placenta into the shape of a doll. These dolls were said to house the child's spirit counsel.

-Other Native traditions hold that the way a woman relates to her child’s placenta will affect her future fertility.

-A Cherokee father walked over ridges with the placenta—one for each year he and his partner wished not to conceive. Then he buried it deep in mother earth.

-Salish women of British Columbia buried their placentas with a scallop shell to give a few years’ rest between pregnancies.

-According to the Paiute people, if an animal ate the placenta, or if it were buried upside-down, a woman would become infertile. (This begs the question: which way is right-side up?)

-The leader of a Brazilian tribe was said to place his placenta out to bathe in the new sliver of moon, as a way of re-energizing himself. The placenta symbolized his external soul.

-In Bali the Placenta is called the Ari-Ari and is regarded as the baby’s sibling and protector. It must never be killed by premature cutting of the cord, but allowed to die a natural death following its delivery. It lives on as the child’s lifetime guardian spirit. A child greets her placenta upon rising and prays to it for protection each night. Offerings are brought to the Ari-Ari’s burial site on new moons, full moons, and holidays.

-I have a friend who threw hers into the seal pit at the zoo and the seals ate it! The seal is one of her son's totem animals.

-The Hawai'ians say if you have a shark totem, drop the placenta in the ocean. Also, if the placenta goes in the ocean, the child will never drown, but will leave the island as an adult.

-I had to rescue my oldest's from the cat—little bugger! He snuck into the room and snagged it out of the bowl it was in! We planted that placenta (after we rescued it!) under a yellow rose bush for our gentle little Libra.

-I buried all of my children’s placentas under trees in keeping with the heritage of returning to earth the fruits of the earth. This is a long Celtic tradition which is shared in many cultures.

-Planting Your Placenta: Many people freeze their placentas until they get a special tree or bush in honor of the new baby. After digging an appropriately sized hole, score the sides of the hole so the soil is more amenable to tender roots. Put the frozen placenta in, and cover it with a half to a full inch of soil before placing the plant on top of it. Hold the plant steady while the rest of the hole is filled. Water the plant well after planting. Newly planted trees and shrubs need to be watered on a regular basis the first year until they form a good root system. As the placenta breaks down in the soil, the tree or shrub will reap the benefits of all the nutrients packed in that placenta. Now, just enjoy watching your baby and new yard addition grow!

-From a horticultural perspective the placenta must be buried deep so the roots do not come into direct contact until it has started to further biodegrade. Planting it deeply, while still frozen, lessens the chance that a hungry animal will sniff it and dig it up.

-Another cultural tradition is to tie the umbilical cord to a branch of the tree or shrub that is planted over the placenta.

-You can also save the cord and allow it to dry—to give to your child later, perhaps at an adolescence ritual. A Native tribe used to dry it and give it to baby as a teething ring.

-Some dads like to bless themselves with the placental blood, marking themselves on the forehead, nose and chin.

-Making Placenta Prints: Before the birth, pick up a few sheets of nice quality art paper. This can be watercolor paper, or some of the really unique specialty papers found in an art supply store. After the birth, take the fresh placenta and remove any blood clots. While still moist, lay it out on the paper, mother’s side down. You can make the prints with the blood that covers it, or wipe it off and put ink or paint on it first. To get the best prints, make sure there isn't too much or too little fluid for the print. Many families have found this to be a fun activity as well as giving them a very unique, artistic keepsake of their pregnancy and birth. Be sure to involve siblings.

-Membranes may be spread onto an oiled cookie sheet and allowed to dry. The unique shape that forms creates a beautiful, personalized map that can be symbolic for the baby.

-More Membrane Art: As a student midwife I saw a beautiful "picture" up at a woman's house. It looked like an image of an angel. It was in fact the caul. Their last baby had been born with the membranes intact and the mother asked a friend to put the membranes onto a sheet of paper. Ta Da!! It really was lovely!

-Some midwives can "read" the placenta intuitively as a lifemap for the baby.


ReSources:
These gems are culled from the wisdom of many women. Some webs woven on the internet; sites included Fensende Archives, the Midwifery Today Forums, and some TCM databases. Print publications included Hygieia by Jeannine Parvati Baker, After the Baby’s Birth by Robin Lim, and Midwifery Today magazine. Also notes, lectures, co-respond-dance, and conversations with wise we’moon Cheryl Morrison, Susun Weed, Feather Jones, Whapio Diane Bartlett, Cynthia Gerard, Terra Richardson Rafael, Raven Lang, and Deborah Simone.  ]]]

 

[Anna]

Here are the pictures:

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Lerato Majikfaerie]

Oh thanks for the resource! I'm a huge fan of placentophagy - I wish there were something I could do to get everyone to eat their placentas! I offer placenta encapsulation as a part of my midwifery practice, and I'll prepare anyone's placenta in any way they'd like it, if it means they'll consume it in some way.