It is less than a week before Baby Friedman’s induction and I am getting all last minute chores done and trying to get focused on this birth. I admit that my plan to meditate frequently went out the window after Joe accepted his new job offer, and we started to plan for a job change, a move to Newport Beach, and a new baby all in the same month. Needless to say, we’ve got a lot on our plates.
This weekend I made a few bold choices about Baby Friedman’s birth. First, Joe and I decided we are going to bank the baby’s cord blood. Joe lost his sister, Molly, when she was only 13 years old to an undiagnosed illness, and I lost my father and my stepfather to leukemia. We have both experienced loss in a very intimate way. Hopefully, we will never have to use the baby’s cord blood, and if we ever do, there is no guarantee that the cord blood can be used to cure the illness. Regardless, we both believe that is it is worth the investment.
Secondly, I decided to have my placenta encapsulated. The first time I heard about this process, I thought it was way too hippie and new-agey for me. But after speaking with several moms about their experiences with it, I was sold. The moms I spoke with reported having TONS of energy, an abundance of milk, very little postpartum bleeding, and no postpartum depression. I never had postpartum depression with Liam, but I was exhausted during those first two months after birth. And I can only imagine how much more tired I will be now that I have a toddler to chase after in addition to attending to Baby Friedman. The way I see it, is that there is no harm in trying it. Worst case scenario – it’s total BS and a bit of money was wasted. Best case scenario, it does all that it’s advertised to do and I am thankful beyond belief. Besides, most Eutherian mammals eat their placentas after giving birth. Humans are among the small minority of Eutherian mammals that don’t eat their placentas. Granted, most mammals give birth in the wilderness and must clean up all remains of afterbirth so predators don’t come after their young. But there has to be something said for digesting the baby’s gestational life source. The placenta is an incredible organ; why waste it?
I’ll be sure to blog about my experience with taking my placenta supplements! For those who think I am nuts, say what you will. I am over feeling pressure from others about what to do during birth and how to raise my children. Nowadays, there is criticism and controversy over every aspect of pregnancy, birth, and child rearing. I’ve learned to be confident about what works best for my family. I still love to listen to other moms and what works for them, but I no longer feel ashamed or like a failure if I’m not following the crowd’s trend.
Awesome! I too am intrigued by this. How do you ingest it? Do you take it somewhere and they process it into supplements for you? Or do you just fry the damn thing up with some butter?? = 0 Details, please! I think it's great!
ReplyDeleteHi Paige! So, there are several ways to ingest, but the most common way is in pill form. I know a woman who ate it raw and another who had it made into a jelly type of substance to eat. A lot of people who do this will come right to your house and do the whole thing in your kitchen. It is a two day process but the total time it takes to encapsulate it is about 3 hours I think. Who knows if it works...part of me really wants to believe that it will do wonders and the skeptic in me is wondering if it is a bunch of hocus pocus!
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