You want to do what with the what?  The placenta? You want to do something to turn it into pills (placenta encapsulation, I’m told it is called) and you want to ingest these pills? The placenta… like the after birth? That bloody raw meat looking thing on the other end of the umbilical cord? That thing scared me when each child was born. It was (really) gross! You want to ingest that thing? You want to eat your placenta! Encapsulate your placenta? Why?

Ok, I get that the placenta is kind of a cool thing. It is a human organ that doesn’t exist before pregnancy. The body just grows it once it is needed. It regulates the oxygen and nutrients our baby needs to grow, making sure she gets what she needs and keeps out the harmful stuff. Then, when the baby is done with it the female body just expels this organ. You are right, that is a really interesting part of human anatomy and they should have talked more about it in health class! That doesn’t explain why you want to eat your placenta?

Ok, so in addition to what it does for the baby the placenta also helps moderate or regulate (or however you explained it) the mother’s hormones. Those hormones that made you crave strange food or made you cry over silly stuff? Sorry, it wasn’t silly stuff (but, yeah it kind of was). I could have done without that part of the pregnancy. So is what you are saying that when the body expels the placenta it is kind of like quitting smoking “cold turkey”? And these pills help ease you off these strange and scary hormones? Without getting all technical, is that kind of what you are saying? Ok. Take these placenta pills and you’ll be less likely to go through that depression stuff and will produce more breast milk? Ok. I think I understand some reasons for placenta encapsulation.

Honey, I understand why you want to cook your placenta and eat it and I think you should do it. I’ve got to tell you though, this is just another example of why I am really glad I am not a woman!

Oh, and make sure I am not around when they come and prepare your placenta! Not sure I’ll ever be able to eat anything cooked in our kitchen again if I see that!

Authored by : Karl Schwarzfeld