I had my placenta encapsulated, like any good natural birthing mama would. Motivated by all the wonderful stories I had heard, I was sure that consuming my placenta in pill form after the birth of my baby would be exactly what I needed. After all, the potential benefits were a decreased risk of postpartum mood issues, more energy, etc. For more information on placenta encapsulation, read here.
To be honest, I never took the time to look into possible side effects of placenta encapsulation. Because something that is all natural cannot possibly have side effects, right? I feel a bit stupid about it now, especially considering that I am usually a very cautious person.
I began taking the pills rather late in the postpartum period. My midwife forgot the placenta in my fridge after birth and I didn’t even notice it was there until a few days later. My doula was kind enough to encapsulate it for me, since I wasn’t going to drive it all the way across town to have it processed. So when my initial postpartum sadness set in about four or five days after the birth, I had no capsules to take.
I ended up taking a few pills about two weeks postpartum. I felt as though they made me feel a bit strange, so I stopped taking them again. However, I started feeling quite depressed a little later on and started taking the pills at the highest recommended dose. I’ve been taking them daily for about eight weeks now.
I haven’t had the easiest time. I have been fighting with anxiety, feeling overwhelmed, a lack of feeling hungry, not being able to sleep, etc. I thought the pills were helping to prevent worse and continued to take them until a few days ago when I noticed that I felt more frantic after taking them in the morning. After suspecting that the pills may be contributing to my issues rather than helping, I stopped taking them a week ago and the difference has been incredible.
I’m still not my usual pre-pregnancy self, but I am much better. I have started feeling hunger again and I am able to sleep more deeply. And I haven’t felt completely crazy since I took those last pills.
My story may be anecdotal- I have no idea if what I experienced was completely coincidental or not. However, looking around online I have come across others who say they experienced similar reactions. Here is an account of a woman who attributes her experience to the side effects of her encapsulated placenta in a piece called I Regret Eating My Placenta.
Unfortunately, there is not much research on the effects- positive or negative- that consuming encapsulated placenta may have. I know that many women have had extremely positive postpartum experiences that they attribute to their pills and I believe that they can be very helpful to some. However, I want to urge women to research possible side effects beforehand and be aware that they may experience some undesirable issues.
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