UM...

BARF!!  Warning, I almost vommited writing this blog.

Last Monday, David and I completed our Bradley Course.  During our last session we discussed postpartum care.  Did you know that 80% of all mothers experience "baby blues" in the first days and weeks after giving birth?  Because it is so common, nothing is typically done until it worsens into a diagnosis of postpartum depression, at which time anti-depressants may be prescribed. 

But did you know that the consumption of the placenta has been reported to help stop the baby blues and diminish postpartum fatigue?  I found a website that offers recipes for cooking the placenta into spaghetti, lasagna, stew, pizza, roast and even into a "placenta cocktail". 

Bon Appetit!

Placenta Spaghetti

 Cut meat of 3/4 placenta into bite size pieces, then brown quickly in 1 tbl. butter plus 1 tbl. oil. Then add 1 large can tomato puree, 2 cans crushed pear tomatoes, 1 onion, 2 cloves of garlic, 1 tbl. molasses, 1 bay leaf, 1 tbl. rosemary, 1 tsp. ea. of salt, honey, oregano, basil, and fennel. Simmer 1 1/2 hours.

Placenta Roast

1 to 3 lb. placenta no more than 3 days old
1 large onion
1 large green or red pepper (green will add color to the presentation)
1 cup tomato sauce
1 sleeve of saltine crackers
1 tsp crab or shrimp seasoning
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp white pepper
1 clove garlic (roasted and minced)
 
1.) Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2.) Chop onion and green or red pepper in small cubes. Place in large bowl. Crush saltines into crumbs and add to onion and pepper cubes.
3.) Combine in a large bowl: placenta, seafood seasoning, pepper, garlic, and tomato sauce. Place into aluminum loaf pan. Cover and bake for 1 and 1/2 hours, occasionally pouring off excess liquid. Retain liquid for gravy base if desired.

Just wait, it gets better.  For those women who want to reap the benefits of the placenta for more than just a day or two, there is another option: encapsulation.  Powdered placenta has been used in Traditional Chinese Medicine for centuries.  In the postpartum period, placenta capsules can be used to

• balance your hormones
• enhance your mild supply
• increase your energy

Apparently the process is pretty easy...dry, grind and encapsulate!

1.) Rinse excess blood from placenta

2.) Cut the umbilical cord for keepsake dehydration

3.) Remove chorion and amnion

4.) Remove nearly all membranes and slice placenta into thin strips to be rinsed again

5.) Prepared and ready to be dehydrated

6.) Finished product (110 pills), ready for mom

...BARF!!!