Summary: Placenta encapsulation is one of the hot new trends in birth, although the idea of eating the placenta is hardly new. Nearly all other mammal species do it, including those that are otherwise complete herbivores. There are a number of theories as to why this is – the placenta contains hormones, which are said to ease post-birth complications. It’s also highly nutritious, which can be critical if you’ve just given birth. And some people postulate that by eating the placenta animals are hiding the evidence that there are new babies around, which may attract predators. Image credit – Herb Mother on Flickr Whatever the reason for it, consuming your placenta is something that is catching on in crunchy birth circles. My friend Gina, a.k.a. The Feminist Breeder, makes her case for it in “What’s the Deal with Placenta Encapsulation?” Although most of the benefits are anecdotal at this point, as more moms talk about it, it’s only likely to become more common. By encapsulating the placenta you can take it like a vitamin, instead of actually cooking it up and eating it, which makes it much more palatable for most (if not all) moms. RoxannaI decided to look into placenta encapsulation a little bit further for this week’s podcast. While I personally have not consumed my placenta, I’ve watched more than one animal do it. I was wondering if they know something we don’t. I was also curious as to exactly what’s involved, and if there’s any reason that someone shouldn’t eat their placenta. And I wanted to hear what benefits people have actually found. I interviewed Roxanna Farnsworth, a Certified Placenta Encapsulation Specialist, and Dr. Monika Poxon, a psychologist and mom of two who had her placenta encapsulated and consumed the pills following the birth of her second child a little over six weeks ago. If you’re at all curious about what’s involved in placenta encapsulation, you’ll want to listen to this week’s podcast: I’m planning a surprise for next week’s podcast – I hope it works out! No matter what, though, I promise you there will be a great conversation worth tuning in for. Subscribe to my podcast in iTunes and you won’t miss a minute! The post Podcast: All About Placenta Encapsulation appeared first on Strocel.com Podcast.The post Podcast: All About Placenta Encapsulation appeared first on Strocel.com Podcast.
