Holistic ways to use the placenta. For a blissful postpartum time! Placenta ♡ How to use its magic in a holistic way
The placenta is such a magical organ. It literally connects your body to your baby. Feeding baby. Communicating with your baby. In ancient traditions, the placenta has the value that it should have. A piece of magic.
To either give back to the earth in a placenta ceremony. Or to use as a powerful medicine. Honestly, I’m happy both my midwife and doula brought the subject up.
Because during my pregnancy I was only thinking about my baby. Not giving much thought on the placenta. Although looking back I feel super blessed for the choices I’ve made.
I’d love to inspire you with my holistic ways of using the placenta.
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My midwife divided my placenta in two. Half of it was used to make placenta pills and tincture. The other half we buried in a little ceremony.
Placenta pills for mama
The placenta pills and tincture where made by a holistic specialist. After giving birth I’ve used the placenta pills for about 3 weeks. It gave me lots of energy. Also, my postpartum healing went super quick!
There are many ways in which placenta pills help your postpartum healing. But there is no scientific research to prove it all. Therefore I just share my personal experience. What it did to me.
Gives a lot of energy
I notice the placenta pills gave me a lot of energy. Maybe too much? So much that I sometimes couldn’t sleep during the day. While I felt tired. I guess I felt restless. Which is one of the symptoms the pills can bring.
Therefore I stopped using the placenta pills for about a day or two. After that, I started again due to all the benefits it has for postpartum recovery. And because I paid about €200. 😉 So I wanted to use the pills. I didn’t notice an excess in energy then and felt good. Also, my postpartum recovery went well.
Quick postpartum recovery
My postpartum recovery went very fast. In which they say the placenta pills help to speed the process. I totally agree based upon my personal experience.
Womb recovery
First of all my womb and belly were back to shape fast. It only took a few days to get back to normal(ish). I didn’t feel any pain after a day or so.
Less bleeding
I had some bleeding but not a lot. After about 2 weeks I thought the bleeding stopped completely. But then it got me by surprise. Mostly at moments that where intense.
For example when Saoirse was crying. I didn’t know what to do and then… Yes, bleeding started. So I kept wearing pads for about a month. Just to be prepared for surprises.
Breastmilk increase
My breastmilk kicked in after a few days. The first days you only have colostrum. A kind of for-milk. More yellowish. Which transformed into normal breastmilk fast. Breastfeeding went smooth. No complications. A happy drinking baby. And a mummy in the clouds.
Baby blues remedy
The placenta pills also help with the “baby blues”. After about 3 days of giving birth I felt so emotional. I knew it wasn’t the normal me. My midwife already warned me about the emotional days after giving birth. She said to not give too much attention to it. And to take two placenta pills instead of one.
Luckily the baby blues disappeared in about three to four days. So I guess the placenta pills helped to cope with it.
I’d recommend the placenta pills from my own experience
As my postpartum went smooth. And my breastmilk kicked in fast. I would recommend using placenta pills. However, I also have done a few things to improve recovery. So I’m not 100% sure if it is only the pills. Or the combination of all the things I’ve done for my postpartum.
Tincture for the whole family
Besides the placenta pills. The homoeopathic lady also made a placenta tincture. Which you could use for the whole family. It is basically a natural remedy for lots of discomfort for baby. Like problems with gas, teething and an overall immunity boost when needed.
Teething remedy
After almost 4 months I started using the tincture. Before we didn’t have any reasons to try it. But when Saoirse starts drooling even more than before. Also, she is rubbing her face a lot. And she is chewing on everything. Which brought me to the conclusion: teething is starting.
I give her 3 drops a day. What works amazingly for the discomfort. As I notice she gets more fussy and upset because of the pain. Then I give the drops and she will relax 15 to 20 minutes later. I really see a huge difference and are super happy with this wonderful treatment!
Homeopathic
As the placenta is such a nurturing organ the tincture helps with basically everything. I’m happy to have a natural remedy in the fridge. Ready if needed.
Placenta bury ritual
Both my doula and midwife told me about the placenta bury ritual. Which is common in many traditions. Like in the Maya culture.
I feel blessed that my doula was strongly connected with the maya traditions. I’ve met my doula on a cacao ceremony in San Marcos – Guatemala. Where we had a sharing together, heart to heart. She told me how passionate she was about her doula training with the maya’s. When I got pregnant about 1 year later I contacted her. And luckily she could be my doula. I feel super blessed with her connection with the maya’s. As I also feel connected to these traditions.
The Maya tradition
Lieke (our doula) told me about the maya tradition of burying the placenta. Which is also beautifully described by Ibu Robin Lim. A well known holistic midwife:
When a Mayan child is born, the placenta is buried in the ground as a religious ritual. This place holds special meaning for the Maya; it is where the individual is symbolically “planted” in the ground to root his or her Mayan identity. In this way the person will not become individualistic or selfish, but a part of the community, of nature and of the cosmos.
Placenta The Forgotten Chakra
by Ibu Robin Lim
Our personal ceremony
With the Maya tradition in mind, we buried the placenta of Saoirse. Somewhere close to our home in the Spanish mountains. We found a beautiful spot in nature. Surrounded by trees.
It was such a beautiful experience. At that moment it really kicked in. My baby is no longer in my belly. We are a family now!I didn’t expect it to be such an emotional moment.
Summary
There are many ways to use your placenta holistically. Giving it the love it deserves. I chose to both use it for medicine and do a ceremony. I’m feeling blessed for these two options.
I feel super blessed with the natural placenta remedies. The placenta pills and tincture are miracle healers. The placenta pills helped me to quickly recover postpartum. Whilst I now use the tincture for Saoirse as she is teething. I’m happy to have a natural remedy in the fridge.
On the second day of Saoirse’ life on earth, we did a placenta ceremony. We didn’t plan something, it just flowed. It was a beautiful part of our postpartum period.
If I would do it again I would choice the same thing. Part for healing purposes, the other part to give back to the earth.
What are you doing with your placenta?
So, what are you going to do with your placenta? Or, what have you done with it? Enlighten us with your experience in the comment section below.
Let’s inspire each other!
