Mum Credits Placenta Smoothie With Avoiding Post-Natal Depression
Make ours a placenta smoothie! [Photo: Rex Features]
When Christina Simmons found out she was pregnant with her second baby, she made herself a promise. That she would literally try anything to avoid the crippling post-natal depression she’d experienced after the birth of her son, even if it meant quaffing a smoothie made from her own placenta.
Fast forward two months after the birth of her daughter, Raina and the 30-year-old mum-of-two credits the placenta power smoothie with side-stepping the post-natal depression she found so debilitating after the arrival of her son, Rhyko, now four.
“Rhyko was born prematurely and taken straight to the neonatal intensive care unit. Because I wasn’t able to see or hold him right away, I felt quite disconnected from motherhood,” Christina explains.
A mum-of-two has credited drinking her placenta with warding off post-natal depression [Photo: Rex Features]
After arriving seven weeks early, Rhyko spent the first month of his life in intensive care, an experience which made it difficult for Christina to bond with her newborn and resulted in a battle with post-natal depression.
"I was scared to get pregnant again as my first experience had been so traumatic,” she said.
“So when I fell unexpectedly pregnant after a trip to Hawaii I vowed to do everything I could to prevent going through post-natal depression again – however crazy it sounded.”
After reading online that drinking placenta could potentially lead to benefits such as improvement of energy levels and prevention of postnatal depression, the second time mum decided to give it a go. And when Raina was born she decided to whizz up part of her afterbirth with avocado, cashew nuts, blueberries and other nutrient-packed foods into a batch of smoothies.
Apple and afterbirth smoothie anyone? [Photo: kaboompics.com via Pexels]
Despite its controversial ingredient list, Christina said the placenta smoothie tasted “delicious’” – and she’s even trying to coerce her pregnant friends into giving it a go.
“Because it has so many other ingredients in it, you can’t taste the placenta at all,” Christina explained.
“My husband tried it and he said the same thing. It tastes like the perfect mix of salty and sweet,” she added.
And the placenta consumption doesn’t end there, as Christina has had some of the placenta turned into capsules. Placenta encapsulation involves the afterbirth getting steamed, dehydrated, ground and then transformed into pill format.
While the remainder Christina plans to save for menopause treatment by creating tincture, a type of herbal oil that’s made by soaking the placenta in vodka for six weeks.
Kim Kardashian shared this picture of her placenta capsules on social media [Photo: Twitter/@kimkardashian]
Placentophagy has been gathering interest of late thanks to several high profile celebrities speaking out about their decision to consume their afterbirth. Kim Kardashian revealed earlier this year that she had the placenta from her second child, Saint, turned into pills, to boost her health and well being and ward off post-natal depression. January Jones has often spoken about her decision to have the afterbirth from her son turned into capsules. And shortly after welcoming her third son, Kit, Coleen Rooney revealed she would be taking pills made from her placenta.
But despite the celebrity endorsement, a debate remains over whether placenta consumption really is beneficial. Experts in the pro-placenta camp believe it helps mums recover from labour, stimulates breast milk production, increases energy and keeps postpartum depression at bay. But other studies suggest that there isn’t any substantial research to support the idea that placentophagy is actually beneficial, or even safe.
Placenta encapsulation is becoming a popular way for new mums to consume their placenta [Photo: Rex Features]
Whether you’re in the ‘if it’s good enough for Kim’ camp, or the mere thought of it makes you want to stick your head down the nearest loo, for Christina Simmons the proof was in the placenta pudding.
Speaking about how much happier she felt in the months after giving birth to her daughter she said: “Things are so different this time round, and I truly believe that’s down to drinking my placenta.”
Would you eat or drink your own placenta? Let us know @YahooStyleUK
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