Placenta Encapsulation - TCM or Raw?

I'm just organising my placenta encapsulation and there are two options for how I would like my placenta 'cooked' before placed into encapsulation.

Option 1 - Traditional Chinese Medicine: Placenta is steamed with ginger, chilli and lemon then dehydrated and ground.

Option 2 - Raw: Placenta is not cooked first, rather the raw placenta is simply sliced and dehydrated then ground.

Depending on placenta size, a TCM placenta may yield 50 - 150 capsules while a raw placenta may yield up to twice that.

Does anyone know, is one way better than the other? I was going to go with the TCM method, but wondering if raw is more beneficial, or if they are much of a sameness.

I went with option 2. No idea how many capsules I got but I stopped taking them I think around 3 months after DD3 was born and that was well before they ran out.

I've only done it the once so I can't compare the different methods, but the difference between how I felt after babies 1 and 2 without, and then baby 3 with was enormous. I had a ton of energy, and felt physically, mentally and emotionally very well.

Thanks lulu, I'm really excited about getting it done. I decided to go raw :)

And the lady also does placenta infused coconut oil and balm so my placenta is going to be very useful :)

Thanks!!

Raw is always best for organ meats. You'll get the most out of it that way.

I've been very interested in this thread to learn about placenta encapsulation I'd like to do it myself.

I had to have a giggle though when I saw Meow replying to KittyK's thread though hehe :lol:

Lol willow. Yes I'm really excited about getting it done. Everyone I spoke to about it IRL are grossed out, funnily enough my dh is very supportive. I found out its because he wants to take some!!! Lol weirdo. He is really into the gym lately and is assuming the capsules will be full of protein. I told him to go grow his own placenta lol

The benefits seem very worth the amount I'm paying and this is my last baby so I decided this was what I wanted.

My worry is my dh and getting the placenta to the lady. He is awfully squeamish and fainted at the birth of ds so we are assuming that might happen at the birth of this one too. I need the placenta to be put into a cooler bag with ice pretty much as soon as possible and I think dh might pass out if he has to hold it lol so I will be in charge of the baby and my placenta I think.

The process is easy she just picks it up from us at the hospital and then she drops the capsules back a few days later :)

Where are you located willow? I'm in Brisbane I can give you details of who I am using.

Thank you KittyK but when I say I'd like to do it myself I actually meant I'd like to train to become qualified to do encapsulation :D I only just started thinking about it the other day. I think Kelly posted something about the service being hard to come by in some states and it got me thinking. I wanted to have mine done with DD but never got it organised.

Oh and I wish I was in Brisbane! Freezing here!! Brrrrrrrrr :p

Oooooh I see :) your right it is hard to find someone to do it. I did a search on the next and could only find 3 people local to me who did it. So might be a good opportunity venture to get into :)

I hope so! I haven't even done a search to see how many do it in my area. I am guessing not too many but you never know. I also wonder what the demand would be here, it can be a fairly conservative area of the world when it comes to some things but worth looking into I think :D I'm a bit excited actually, now I just need to find out how you go about getting qualified. The only place I have seen so far, after a very quick google is in QLD which could be problematic for me being in ACT and on a tight budget at the moment :(

KittyK when I did it it was on my birth plan and reinforced verbally when I gave birth that my placenta was to be saved and stored. It was put in a fridge and then the next morning (DD3 was born just before 9pm) my DH took it home and then into our fridge. My "placenta lady" then came to our house and collected it, took it home and did everything there. We then picked up the end results the next day when I went home. My DH was pretty grossed out by the whole idea of cuddling my placenta while he walked back to the car, but it was "discreetly" packaged by the hospital. Take a big icecream container or something so that your DH can put it in its bag into that, and then he won't even have to feel it.

I can't tell you how glad I am I did it. TBH the whole concept made me physically ill when I originally heard of it, but that was when I was reading about actual raw placenta consumption, as opposed to in a capsule form. Then I went on and had severe PND so I was prepared to get myself past the ickness of it all if it was going to stop me going down the same road again, but in all honesty after the initial capsule I didn't even think of it anymore - just popped my happy pills every day like I would any other vitamin.

I was going to ask you Kitty if your lady did it from home? So yours did LuluHB? I was hoping it was able to be done from home but wasn't sure about any regulations looks like it's looking more possible for me if that's the case :D

Yep, she did Willow. I got a HUGE amount of grief from the midwife that ended up being on duty when I actually birthed about all the possible issues with it. I gather there aren't any regulations - which was the midwife's biggest issue. Her normal service is to collect the placenta either from your home or the hospital, take it home with her (she will prepare it in your kitchen if you request it, which I guess would alleviate some people's fears), and then she returns the capsules, the tincture, a placenta print and something else that I don't remember now (sorry) to your house. We only collected because we live a fair way out, and her house was sort of on the way home from hospital. She had just had a bub herself so I was trying to make to easier for her too.

Cool thanks for the info :D That's a good idea too to offer to prep in the clients kitchen if they were concerned. So much food for though, I love it. I haven't been excited about the possibility of something for a long time :)

Hi kitty,

As mentioned in our group I too am strongly considering encapsulation. Midwife got hold of someone closer to home, and she also offers tincture for $50. Can I ask others what this is? And if you found it useful?

Willow: I'm assuming she does from her home. The lady is a doula as well so does birthing as well as offering this service. With the encapsulation she includes a placenta print and also a cord keepsake of the umbilical cord dried into a shape of my choice, spiral, heart etc included in the price.

Wm: my lady offers the placenta tincture too but I didn't bother to ask what it is. Very interested to see if anyone knows what it is and what it can be used for. I added placenta infused coconut oil and balm to my order thought I should try and get the most out of my placenta :) it's the last one ill ever grow!!

Placenta tincture is a liquid that is created by soaking a bit of placenta in alcohol (usually vodka) for a couple of months then straining off the solid bits.

Yep - what Muppity said. I was told that it lasts for years - you just keep topping it up when the level subsides. It can be used for the mother when she is unwell, or mentally/emotionally struggling and that it can also be used for the child when they are unwell. I haven't used mine at all so can't comment on its effectiveness.

Ah yes - that was the last thing my placenta lady gave me. A cord keepsake.

Here's some info http://carolinaplacentalady.com/2013...ncture-recipe/

So you complete the process of the tincture then? Leave it for a few months until it's ready to use then strain?

I wasn't told to strain it (which might be part of the reason I haven't used it!!) - merely to consume however many drops, depending on whether its for me or DD3. It was suggested to me to mix it with juice or something. I would have thought that if you strained it, ie removed the piece of placenta, then you have a finite use of it - ie it runs out and that's it. I was told to leave the piece of placenta in it and just top it up with vodka whenever the level got down below a certain mark on the bottle, meaning that I could effectively have an almost endless supply for years to come.

That makes sense LuluHB.

But the concentration would go down anyway, as there would only be so much nutrients???

Good point/question WilliamsMummy. I have a lot to learn :)

Hi I am also in Brisbane and was wondering if you could please give me the details of the lady who is doing/did your placenta encapsulation? Also what does it cost? Thank you

Ooh me too! I'm looking for it this time as well, but DPs family (if they found out) would go crazy (they think I'm a hippy because I bf'd til 8m!!). So I'd need them to be very discreet and pick up from the hospital :)

Also KittyK- the reason for the TCM method us how the Chinese think the mother needs to be kept warm postpartum (I thought it was the opposite, oops)

" I use the Traditional Chinese Medicine Method (TCM). The thought process behind this is to warm the mother. You warm the placenta adding fresh ginger root and pepper while steaming the placenta before dehydration. Tradition is for a new Chinese mother to be kept warm, eating warm foods, covered in blankets etc. for the first month after the baby is born, so preparing the placenta ussing this method goes along those lines. "

Hey guys sorry haven't been on bellybelly for a bit :) I used accomplished birth, you can google the name and it will come up, the lady's name is Lauren and she is a doula as well. It was $220 pick up and drop back to greenslopes hospital. I added in the placenta infused coconut oil and balm as well, I've been using the balm when baby gets a nappy rash.

My in laws and my parents think I'm a bit 'alternative' lol I bf for 15 months. And now the capsules. Sometimes I like to take them in front of people just to gross them out lol to me they are my all natural happy pills :)