Placental Encapsulation is the process of drying, grinding, and encapsulating the placenta in order for the mother to take the capsules to help with recovery postpartum. When I first started researching this, I was a little skeptical, but quickly realized how beneficial it could be.
You can find a lot of information here, but the common benefits are: lessened risk for postpartum depression, increased milk production, faster healing after delivery, among other things. Encapsulating your placenta or even blending chunks of it into smoothies is quickly gaining popularity. There are several people that do the encapsulations here in Oklahoma. I went with a lady named Anne Coffee who assisted my sister in her homebirth. She is a homebirth midwife and also a Doula. You can find out more about her services on her Facebook page here. I thought Anne did a great job and she is a very sweet lady. I called her after I delivered and she came up to the hospital and got the placenta. The next day, she brought the capsules, along with a placenta print and umbilical cord tincture to me while I was still in the hospital. I had a super duper huge placenta and got about 250 capsules!
I started taking them as soon as I received them. They suggest you take 1-2 capsules up to three times a day for the first few weeks and then you can taper off after that. The first thing I noticed when I started taking them is that my milk came in very quickly. With my oldest daughter, I didn't get my milk until day 5, with Hensley I got it on day 3. I also got a lot of milk! At Hensley's 1 week pediatrician appointment, she was already back at her birth weight plus several ounces (a total of 12oz gained in just 6 days!). I also had VERY light bleeding as soon as I started the pills. I remember bleeding very heavily with Taelyn for about 2 weeks. With Hensley it was only the first 2 days and then super light until it stopped all together after just 2 weeks!
Another big thing I noticed was the quick healing time! I was feeling almost 100% by the end of week 2. Now this could be associated with a drug free/all natural birth, but I still think the capsules helped a lot. I didn't have any issues with postpartum depression with Taelyn, so I wasn't too worried about having issues with Hensely. With Taelyn I did get really emotional at the smallest things though and I have noticed on the days I take the most capsules I feel the greatest and when I taper them off, I tend to be prone to headaches and seem more emotional. I have noticed (even gotten compliments about) how happy and bubbly I seem and that I also still seem to have the pregnancy glow. I guess I can attribute this to the capsules as well!
I definitely don't regret doing the encapsulation and I feel that the benefits are definitely worth the price paid! I highly recommend everyone to do the research and consider doing placental encapsulation for themselves!
I wish someone had been doing this when I had my kids! Glad you had such good results!!
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