Should You Eat Your Placenta?

Should You Eat Your Placenta?

There are many supposed benefits to eating the placenta after birth – either fresh or encapsulated. In today’s episode I share some benefits and some possible downsides to choosing to consume your placenta!

Topics I Cover in This Podcast:

  • The purpose of the placenta during pregnancy
  • How the placenta works on your side (the maternal side)
  • How the placenta works on the baby’s side – this is the “Tree of Life!”
  • What happens to the placenta after the baby is born
  • How to know when your baby is done with the placenta
  • The placenta and postpartum hemorrhage
  • Several options to consider with your baby’s cord and the afterbirth
  • Why many mamas are choosing to consume their placentas
  • Positive hormonal effects from placental consumption
  • The different types of placenta!
  • Why some women choose not to consume placenta
  • Basic thoughts on processing or choosing someone to process placenta
  • Thoughts on cord clamping and lotus birth
  • My personal choices with placental consumption

Right-click here to download the MP3

Things Mentioned on This Week’s Podcast

Sadie Cord

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Photo By תמרה דהן – דולה (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Should You Eat Your Placenta?

About the author 

Kristen

Kristen is a pregnancy coach, student midwife, and a mama to 8 - all born naturally! I've spent nearly two decades helping mamas have healthy babies, give birth naturally, and enjoy the adventure of motherhood. Does complete support for a sacred birth and beautiful beginning for your baby resonate with you? Contact me today to chat about how powerful guidance and coaching can transform your pregnancy, birth, and mothering journey <3

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    1. Hannah,

      We coiled her cord and put it in a sunny windowsill. After the first day we propped it up on a little mesh so the underside got air, too. You can faintly see the imprint of the mesh on that side. But really it was nothing but sunlight and air! I wish now that I’d taken pictures of the start and finish – it’s dramatically smaller now than it started 😉

  1. I also wanted to thank you for pointing out the bible verses. The old testament is hard to decipher to but thank you again!!

    1. You’re welcome Hannah – it can be challenging, but I think this verse was food for thought 😀 No pun intended, lol!

  2. Hello Kristen,
    I am also a Christian and I appreciate you taking the time to go to God’s word. However, I believe that since Deuteronomy was written in Hebrew looking into those words, using tools, gives the best insight to what is meant. Just because the English says young one and children doesn’t mean Hebrew mean the same things twice. Also, the verse markings were not present when it was written. Deut. 28:56 begins the though with a delicate woman turns an evil eye toward her husband, her son, and her daughter. Then a comma comes before continuing to verse 57. It goes on to say “And toward her young one that comets out from between her feet.” The verb is one word on Hebrew H3318 and in English is “that comets out” is in the active form. Basically she is in siege and has a baby and eats it. The term for “young one” can be afterbirth, fetus, or baby. In Hebrew, only the context indicates which word is correct. For example, the Hebrew word for hand, wrist, and forearm is one word and only context tells you which meaning is correct (I would like to study Hebrew to help my Bible study, and I love languages). The phrase after children also is one Hebrew verb H3205 and translates “which she shall bear” is the imperfect tense. That means from now into the future, ongoing, uncompleted. So in context the seige turns her heart away from every relationship that she should naturally love and protect, from her husband to her newborn and beyond to all her children after that. The siege changes her so that even after it is over she remains this way toward her babies. I used Blue letter Bible to study this passage. It is free and easy to use. Thank you for all your study and support for moms!

    1. Hi Jacquelin, I appreciate your comment and your sharing 😀 I agree that reading in the Hebrew and original context is a great idea. I’m familiar with the Blue Letter Bible, and I also like Bible Hub’s interlinear Bible (http://biblehub.com/interlinear/deuteronomy/28.htm) which has the Hebrew phrasing.

      I also agree with your interpretation and I summed the siege situation on the podcast. I still respect that many translations use “afterbirth” and if you look at the Strong’s number for the Hebrew, it also agrees with afterbirth though obviously the KJV, the Scriptures version, etc. use something different.

      But honestly I think much of that is irrelevant because we are examining a situation that we all agree is negative and drives the woman to drastic measures – and it is in that situation that something is consumed (be it child, afterbirth, or both)… I just personally shy away from something that the only reference to in the Scriptures seems to be in a negative light. That’s my hesitation, though I do enjoy discussion on it! After all, if rabbis have happily bantered back and forth on every verse of the Tanakh for centuries, I’m open to doing so too 🙂

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