Check out my placenta pills!
I said in this post that I wasn't going to eat my placenta. I didn't cook it, chop it up and chew it, but I did change my mind and choose to swallow the capsules.
When my daughter was born and the midwives were wrapping up the placenta, I decided I would never know unless I tried, especially since I didn't have the option with my first birth. So we stuck the placenta in the freezer until one of the midwives came to get it. She encapsulated it overnight! I have no idea how she does what she does, especially so fast, but it was awesome.
I am now around two months postpartum and I took my last few pills today. It's going to be interesting to see if I feel a difference after a few days of not taking them!
I got a few hormonal headaches in the first few days of taking the pills, so I wasn't sure if they were causing them. I stopped taking them for a few days and still got a few headaches, so I realized they weren't the cause and resumed taking them. I do think they increased my milk supply when I initially started taking them. I don't know about whether or not they gave me energy or if it was more of a placebo effect, but it's possible they did.
As far as helping my uterus to return its normal size, I'm not sure. I did start my periods already, sooner than last time, so maybe taking the pills was part of it. I do think that they possibly helped to restore my iron levels quickly, but I can't confirm that. And as far as stress-reducing, I can't really give a report on that either because I've never had two kids before, so I don't know if my stress level is normal or not!
I healed so much faster after this birth than with my first, because I didn't have stitches and a breast infection this time, so it's hard to tell if they aided in my speedy recovery or not. I am glad that I tried, though, because if we would have buried the placenta like we had initially planned, I would have probably regretted not trying it. YOLO, right? :)
Baby girl and I are super healthy and happy, so the placenta pills had no negative effects, but I can't prove any of the positive effects.