During my second pregnancy, I made the decision to approach the birth positively and with confidence, which wasn’t easy having had a bad experience the first time. I decided to try Hypnobirthing as I had heard many good things about it. I liked the fact that it empowers the woman to believe in her body and teaches relaxation techniques to promote a calm, easy birth. It was during one of our hypnobirthing classes that placenta encapsulation was first mentioned. One of our hypnobirthing teachers, Emily Street, had had her placenta made into capsules after the birth of her fourth child a few months previously.
She seemed to radiate health, vitality and energy, despite her clearly very busy life and was convinced that it was the consumption of her placenta capsules that had made the difference. Naturally, my husband & I were interested to find out more and I was more than willing to have my placenta encapsulated to enjoy the many reported benefits. These include quicker restoration of iron levels after birth, bringing your milk on quicker, lesser post birth bleeding & reduced likelihood of postnatal depression and quicker natural contraction of the uterus.
I was directed to the IPEN website, which stands for Independent Placenta Encapsulation Network (Placenta Encapsulation Specialist). Here you can find a trained IPEN specialist in your local area and contact them directly through email to arrange to use their services. I simply emailed the local IPEN specialist and made arrangements for her to make my placenta into capsules. I was planning a home birth and was told I would need a sterile container to put the placenta into immediately after it had been delivered and checked. As it happened, I gave birth in hospital and took a sterile container and cool bag with ice packs with me. This is because most hospitals are unable to provide adequate storage facilities for the placenta.
PLACENTA ENCAPSULATION PLUS PLACENTA SMOOTHIE
My husband contacted our IPEN specialist whilst I was in labour to give her notice that she would need to collect the placenta later that day, it is usually collected within 12 hours of birth. He let her know once our son had been born and she made her way to our house. I had decided that as well as having the placenta encapsulation, I would also try the raw placenta smoothie! This particular placenta encapsulation recipe is made by taking a small piece of raw placenta and blending it with lots of organic berries to make a delicious smoothie. My husband brought the smoothie to me in the hospital a few hours after our son was born, the specialist having made it at our house using a brand new disposable blender.
I can honestly say it was delicious and tasted only of fresh berries. I had lost quite a large quantity of blood during the birth and knew that this was a way of replenishing the lost iron quickly. It is easily absorbed by the body as it recognises the iron as being natural, rather than the artificial iron tablets which are routinely prescribed if women have lost significant amounts of blood.
PLACENTA ENCAPSULATION VIDEO
PLACENTA ENCAPSULATION CONCLUSION
I had another ‘dose’ of placenta smoothie the following day and the IPEN specialist was already working to make the remainder of the placenta into capsules. These were posted to me and received about 3 days after the birth. I began to take them 3 times a day initially and would instantly feel calmer and more in control. I did not feel that I was at the mercy of my hormones, as I had done when I had my first son. The placenta capsules definitely make you feel like you have more energy (even when you are very sleep deprived), which is a fantastic benefit!
I would certainly recommend the benefits of placenta encapsulation to anyone who is open-minded enough to try it! After a wonderfully euphoric hypnobirthing experience with our second son, the benefits I have experienced from placenta encapsulation were really the icing on the cake!
