An Experience Witnessing the Power of the Placenta
Mammals eat their placenta as soon as it is born. When did we stop eating it?
Before we go into the medicine of Placenta and you just can’t get over consuming your own beautiful organ your body created, let us just explore why it’s beneficial to consume the placenta. It is not just for great hair and nails 🙂 It can be used for something much more important.
This can be a really uncomfortable topic to broach. We have all heard of the “baby blues” and postpartum depression. It is not talked about as much as it occurs, I guarantee. As a doula we take into consideration the history of a mother that has had previous postpartum depression. One of the most amazing things to use for postpartum depression is the very organ that is dispelled shortly after birth, the magical placenta.
Since we work with women directly and find out their history, we also suggest the consumption of the placenta especially if they have had postpartum depression. I have heard/read of women experiencing severe postpartum depression. Does the history really provide accurate information? Just because it has happened once, does it mean it is going to happen again? Will it be more severe with each birth? Will it be better with each birth? It’s a ”taboo” topic in this society to talk about depressed, dark feelings after giving birth.
It is best to process the placenta as soon after the baby is born as possible. To see all the details on how we processed this placenta click here: https://danielleh11.wordpress.com/2011/06/07/placenta-processing/
A common occurrence of postpartum depression may look like this. I am not an expert on postpartum depression. These words are from my own experience working with women and supporting them in the postpartum time.
The mother may not feel connected to her baby. She may not feel like it’s OK to nurse her baby. She may wonder why she deserves the baby. She may have feelings of wanting to leave and never return. She may not want to eat or drink. She may not want to talk about the birth. She may feel angry or very sad.
There are some common remedies that nature provides us, and I feel are there to support a new mother.
- Water, lots of fresh clean water needs to be drank. Water carries the emotion of joy, it brings it into the cells rapidly.
- Sunlight, it is well known that if we don’t get enough sunlight it can lead to feeling depressed. If we are already feeling depressed or have those tendencies then we should work at preventing it and be out in the sunlight, or at the very least allow it to come into your home through the windows.
- Fresh air, open up the windows, even on a hot or cool day. It is healing to have fresh air come in. Sitting in a stagnant house can invite anyone to feel depressed, especially a mother that gave birth recently and her hormones are out of balance.
- Consuming the placenta your body grew for 10 months (40 weeks is 10 months!)
- Friends and family that are highly supportive. Highly supportive looks like: Preparing meals, cleaning, running errands. Not to be confused with taking the baby from the mother so she can get some sleep. However allowing for the mother and the baby to be bonding as much as possible. By supporting her around the house gives her time to heal and to nurse her baby. The more she nurses the faster her uterus returns to it’s previous size.
- Nursing- as mentioned above
- Homeopathic formulas- you can get them from Sprouts or other health food stores Over The Counter for $5.00!!
- Touch-the healing power of someone touching you, massaging your shoulders, hugging you.
- Talk-discussing how the birth went, fears of being a parent, fears that the new baby will change the relationship you have with your partner, fears of the change in finances etc..
As a final thought about the placenta: It is normal and natural to consume your placenta. To not consume your placenta is to intervene with natures process and invite complications. To read more about the power of placenta medicine, the science behind it, other uses for it, and recipes, check out this website: http://www.moondragon.org/parenting/placentadisposalrituals.html
Two Doulas on a Mission 