Would You Eat Your Placenta?

This is my first placenta I encapsulated.  These are like gold to me.  They are my 'happy pills'; my energy pills; my pills to help my milk production.  They are a way to bring my body back to normal after birth.  The only thing I haven't done is a smoothie and actually cook with it.  However, I will say that I've come across some mighty interesting recipes using placenta... such as Placenta Chef (although it is not 'human placenta' it could be used), Chocolate Placenta Truffles (which I am tempted to make), Placenta Smoothies, and there is even a book on Amazon... 25 Placenta Recipes.

Back in 2009, when I was pregnant with Bekah (baby 6), and was planning a possible unassisted birth (due to anti midwifery laws in KY), I first heard about placentography.  My first thought was what is to be expected.  That it was possibly the grosses thing I'd ever heard of.  However, as time drew closer to her birth, and I did a lot more research into it, I decided to go for it.  I thought she could be my last baby (so wrong with that one), and if I was going to do it, I needed to do it that time.  Only once had I had baby blues (not PPD), and I was more than happy to have something natural to try that might possibly help with that.

I'm sure my husband thought I was crazy.  He still leaves the house when I'm planning to process a placenta.  I also tend to schedule my encapsulation time for when he's going to be gone a few hours, so he's not grossed out. 

I remember the first pill I swallowed.  I looked right at my husband, and said "I'm officially crazy!".  I'm sure he agreed.  I went in a skeptic.  I was just starting to study and understand natural remedies.  I was moving out of the pharmaceutical culture.  This was a HUGE step for me, in more ways than one.

I have now encapsulated 2 of my placentas. I have also made placenta jerky, as well as a tincture. It is amazing the difference I feel when I take a bite of jerky, or a couple pills from the placentas (now located on the top shelf of my freezer).  It has made me a believer, and after researching other ingredients used in widely accepted drugs, has lost it's "ick factor". The great thing is that the placenta ends up looking like any other pill you swallow. 

After all my talking, what are these possible benefits from consuming your placenta? 


Benefits Include:
• Increase general energy
• Allow a quicker return to health after birth
• Increase production of breast milk
• Decrease likelihood of baby blues and post natal depression
• Decrease likelihood of iron deficiency
• Decrease likelihood of insomnia or sleep disorders

"There are a variety of potential benefits to placentography. For one, the placenta contains vitamins and minerals that may help fight depression symptoms, such as vitamin B6. For another, the placenta is considered rich in iron and protein, which would be useful to women recovering from childbirth, and a particular benefit to vegetarian women.
Research on placentography is still in its infancy, although there is a large body of research beginning to develop on postpartum hormone fluctuations and health. Researchers from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) conducted a study that focused on CRH (Corticotropin-Releasing Hormone). CRH is a stress reducer, and is generally produced by the hypothalamus. 

During the last trimester of pregnancy, the placenta secretes so much CRH that the levels in the bloodstream increase threefold. However, it was also discovered that postpartum women have lower than average levels of CRH, triggering depressive symptoms.(1) They concluded that the placenta secreted so much CRH that the hypothalamus stopped producing it. Once the placenta was born, it took some time for the hypothalamus to get the signal that the CRH levels were low, and to begin producing it again. This is just another sign that there is likely a biological cause for the baby blues, directly related to hormone levels. 


Interestingly enough, in 1954, researchers conducted a study on 210 women who were expected to have insufficient milk supply. They gave dried placenta to the women, and discovered that 86% of them had a positive increase in their milk production within a matter of days."

http://www.ocdoulas.com/placenta_encapsulation_services.htm
http://placentamom.weebly.com/

Some Days It's OK To Lose Your Mind

I'm pretty sure that some days it is quite fun it lose your mind.  My house is small. My family is big.  At least, bigger than the average family.  We all get along, for the most part.  There are fights and bickering.  The normal stuff.  However, some days I just want some quiet time.  Not likely to happen unless I'm sleeping.  That doesn't really count, in my opinion.  

What else?  Well, I miss my hubby.  We live in Missouri.  He's been in Arizona for a week.  I'm not sure how long he's going to be out there.  Maybe a week longer.  Possibly a month or two longer. It just depends on how many jobs he gets out there.   

I miss him terribly.  We don't get to talk much due to the time difference.  Normally it's a few minutes at night before bed.  I can't wait for him to come home.  It's been kind of hard to keep my sanity.  

He's going to miss Moses's 5th birthday too. Mo turns 5 on Wednesday.  What a big guy.  My mom is coming up, and if it's nice, we'll go to the park.  I'm looking forward to his little party. 

I would really like to give a shout out to all the single moms, as well as the moms with husbands who are deployed or away a lot for work. You ladies rock.  This stuff is hard.  

Guest Blog - Pelvic Health Risks with Transvaginal Mesh

Pelvic Health Risks with Transvaginal Mesh (Drugwatch.com)

Many women are unaware of the importance of pelvic health. The pelvis houses the reproductive organs as well as the bladder and rectum, all of which are supported by pelvic floor muscles. These muscles support the baby during pregnancy, play a role during labor and childbirth, control continence, control sexual function and contribute to balance.

Pelvic Floor Disorders

Once the pelvic floor becomes weakened, women tend to develop stress urinary incontinence (SUI). Coughing, sneezing or laughing can trigger unintentional urine leakage. Many women accept this as a part of life, however with the proper therapy SUI can be reversed.

Pelvic organ prolapse occurs when the pelvic floor muscles are too weak to support the pelvic organs, allowing them to drop out of place. Some women do not need treatment, but for women experiencing symptoms like pelvic pressure, pain during sex or a bulge in the vagina, there are treatment options available.

More than half of women will suffer from a pelvic floor disorder at some point in life. Supporting the extra weight of the baby while pregnant, and straining the pelvic floor muscles during labor can stretch and weaken pelvic floor muscles. Smoking, high-impact activities, heavy lifting, obesity, chronic cough and constipation can also weaken the pelvic floor.

Risks with Transvaginal Mesh

Transvaginal mesh hit the market in the 1990s and is used in surgeries to repair pelvic floor disorders like pelvic organ prolapse and stress urinary incontinence (SUI). The synthetic device is implanted through the vagina to support the bladder and other pelvic organs.

In 2008, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a safety warning in response to increasing reports of serious meshcomplications. Three years later, the FDA issued a follow-up warning, stating that mesh complications are not rare.

Surgeries that do not use mesh can be equally effective in treating prolapse and incontinence, without the added risk, and should be discussed with a doctor. Treatments that do not involve surgery – including weight loss, Kegel exercises, pelvic physical therapy and pessaries -- should be considered longbefore surgery is scheduled.

Health Risks

After implantation, transvaginal mesh is known to shrink, which can cause shortening and tightening of the vagina and makesexual intercourse painful. Erosion is another serious risk of transvaginal mesh—sharp edges of the mesh can perforate nearby organs, which can make sex agonizing for women and painful for partners as well.

Women also report infections, unusual discharge, irregular bleeding and vaginal odors. Some women report that transvaginal mesh has left them with debilitating pain. They report being unable to work or participate in activities they once enjoyed. Some women are not even able to walk comfortably after mesh surgery.

Correcting these problems is not as easy as simply going back in and removing the mesh. Revision surgeries are often more complex, as the body’s tissues grow into the mesh, and aretherefore more dangerous than the original procedure. There is no guarantee that complications will be resolved with removal of the mesh, and there is no guarantee that all of the mesh can be removed.

After months or years of suffering, many women have brought lawsuits against the manufacturers of transvaginal mesh.

 

Linda Grayling is a writer for Drugwatch.com, a consumer advocacy website. She stays up to speed on the latest medical news, including recalls and clinical trials.

C25K - Week 3 Days 2 & 3

I'm combining these posts.  I'm thinking about just writing each week.  

I am going to repeat Week 2 & 3.  Basically, week 3 is just really hard.  There's no way I can see myself being able to run 5 minutes on Sunday.  I was not able to run the entire last 3 minutes today.  

I hate not being able to do it.  My knee is really killing me and I have horrible side stitches.  Poor Hannah has had to stop at least once each day this week.  I've stopped on day 1 and again today on day 3.  

I think moving back is the best way.  We're going to repeat week 2 and give our bodies time to get stronger before going back to week 3.  

It's not exactly the post I was wanting to make, but I think it's a good update anyway.  I need to get stronger before moving up.   You gotta know when to walk away, and know when to run.  I'm just walking back a bit to get a running  start.  

C25K - Week 3 Day 1

I really didn't feel like running today.  Yesterday I wanted to.  Today, not so much.  

Come 5 PM it was 79°.  We had bad storms last night.  It was pretty nerve wracking.  Today has been nice, but more storms are expected.  I knew if I skipped today, I would have to run 2 days in a row.  Not happening.  

So, I got Hannah and out the door we went.  

After my first run of 90 seconds, I was winded.  After my 3 minute run, I was done.  I kept going.  Did my next 90 second run.  At the lady 3 minute run, I thought I was going to throw up.  I pushed myself.  I kept going, even after Hannah stopped.  I made it all the way to the last 5 seconds.  Then I had to walk.  I wish I would have kept going, but I was spent.  I almost got sick.  

We ran though.  That was great.  However, if I can't run day 3 without knowing I can go further, I'm repeating day 3.  I will not go up a level if I can't finish the one I'm on.  

C25K - Week 2 Day 3

It is finished!  Week 2 is over!

Hannah and I took a different route today.  We ran to the river and back today.  I lost Hannah a couple times.  She caught up though.  

It was a beautiful run.  It's a straight dirt road.  Trees and fields on both sides.  Long steep hills to run up and down.  

Today was a great run.  I went slower than yesterday.  I felt great.  I was hot, but not exhausted.  I know I'm ready to advance when I make it through my run without wanting to die.  I've decided I like what I did this week.  I'm going to try it with week 3 where I run day 1 slower.  Push myself day 2.  Then run day 3 normal.  It seems easier that way.  

I'm excited for Monday.  

Week 3 is run 90 sec; walk 90 sec; run 3 min; walk 3 min and do that twice. 

C25K - Week 2 Day 2

It's been getting hot the last few days.  Up in the 90's.  I decided to run this morning.  It ended up being later than I wanted since I had to nurse Joy before I left.  That delayed me 30 minutes.  

Anyway, I really pushed myself today.  Yesterday a friend on Facebook shared a 50th Anniversary Doctor Who Run this fall.  There's a 5K run and 1/2 Marathon Run.  I know I will be able to do the 5K by then.  I want to see how far I can push myself.  It's a "virtual run", so it's by honor system.  However, I'm only going to register for the one I can do.  No cheating.  I want the Doctor Who medal. LOL!  That motivated me to jog faster today.  

I did it!  By the end, on my second to last run, I thought I was going to pass out and/or throw up.  My skin was prickly feeling when I was walking. Kind of like a mixture of the feeling of limbs waking up after they fall asleep and a burn.  I kept on going though.  

I did lose Hannah at the half way mark, but only for the run.  She caught up when I started walking.  I told her it's good to push yourself.  It's good to know how far you can go.  However, walking is not a failure.  You need to know when you shouldn't push any further.  

One more day of week 2.  I'm scared!  Brent had me look at week 3 and week 4!  I need to keep pushing myself on my running.  Like I said.  I'm scared.  LOL

Here's today's picture.  I'm making progress on my tummy!