Encapsulating your placenta allows you to have the healing benefits of your placenta over a sustained period during your first 6 weeks postpartum. Each placenta is different in size and weight; depending on these factors, you can expect anywhere between 75 and 140 capsules. If you have any leftover capsules, they can be stored in the freezer for other hormonally challenging times (PMS, etc). If you are looking specifically for placenta to last for menopause, I would suggest reading about placenta tincture here.
TCM style capsules
The method I offer follows Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) guidelines of preparation. First, the placenta is rinsed and cleaned of blood clots, etc, before it is gently steamed over low heat with warming herbs in the steaming water. It is then dehydrated from this cooked state. These capsule are used as a deeply restorative postpartum tonic, balancing hormones, increasing milk supply, and re-building blood & Qi.
For thousands of years, Traditional Chinese Medicine TCM has recognized the placenta as powerful medicine. It is used to augment the Qi, (energy), nourish the blood, and augment the kidney essence. Translation? Dried placenta is used to bring the postpartum mother’s body back into balance, replenishing what was lost during childbirth.
Cooking the placenta is an integral part of the formation and action of the medicine. Adding heat to the placenta is part of what makes TCM style encapsulation unique. In TCM raw foods are generally considered cooling. Within the TCM framework, raw placenta is considered cooling and isn’t recommended in the postpartum as a general rule for the tonifying purposes of nourishing blood and restoring energy.
Women who take placenta capsules report fewer emotional issues, have more energy and tend to enjoy a faster, more pleasant postpartum recovery.
Traditionally placenta capsules are used to help:
- balance your hormones
- enhance your milk supply
- increase your energy
- combat fatigue
Placenta capsules may help:
- you to recover more quickly from birth
- to bring the body back into balance
- prevent the “baby blues”
- shorten postpartum bleeding time
- assist the uterus to return to it’s pre-pregnant size
- increase postpartum iron levels
Studies show that placenta is extremely nutrient rich, high in iron, protein, vitamins and minerals, including vitamin B6 and of course, your own natural hormones, making it perfectly made for you, by you. Experts agree that the placenta retains hormones, and thus reintroducing them to your system may ease hormonal fluctuations.
The information on this page has not been evaluated by the FDA. The services offered by Devi Doula are not clinical, pharmaceutical, or intended to diagnose or treat any condition. Families who choose to utilize the services on this page take full responsibility of their own health and for researching and using the remedies.
I have completed an approved educational course in Bloodborne Pathogens & Infection Control for Doulas, Midwives, & Placenta Encapsulators in accordance with the OSHA Bloodborne Pathogens Standard 29 CFR 1090.1030. I follow these standards with each client and placenta I work with.
Kristina is a Holistic Health & Lifestyle Coach and Placenta Alchemist residing in the SF Bay Area. 
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