The Surprising Ways I Used My Placenta by Louise Grainger

Louise wanted to share her own experiences of making use of her placenta and we love the many ways she found to make use of it.

Louise’s Story –

“When my first son was born in October 2014 I had only recently come round to the idea of placenta encapsulation for myself. I liked the idea of using something found in nature, that is natural to me and developed by my own body, to help me recover from birth.

My greatest fear, at that time, was that I might suffer from postnatal depression, as my Mum had done when she had given birth to me.

At the time of my pregnancy my sister-in-law had been working as a Placenta Remedies Specialist in LA for about eight years and it was thanks to her help and guidance that I was able to encapsulate my own placenta. I took them as steamed capsules and found that not only did I not suffer with the baby blues or postnatal depression but I also felt very balanced as a consequence.

In fact, I’d actually say I felt perfectly normal which in itself tends to be quite abnormal and didn’t mirror the experiences of many of my first time Mum friends.

Since that time a lot has happened and changed in my life. From the more obvious changes ie no more lie-ins, nights out and reading a whole book uninterrupted. To a major change in becoming a Placenta Remedies Specialist myself.

Fast-forward three and a half years and I’m about to have our second child and probably our last. I won’t lie, I was pretty nervous about having a second child but super excited about having a second placenta! My nervousness centred around how a second child would affect our family dynamic. Quite honestly, I didn’t know how I was going to cope with a high energy three year old and a baby at the same time. It was hard enough, dealing with a high energy three year old whilst pregnant!

In contrast, I only felt excitement about having a placenta to use and try out all the different remedies options for myself!

My hope was to do all of the following: three smoothies, steamed capsules, simple dried capsules, tincture, essence, homeopathic remedies, a facial oil, creams and balms. And I’m thrilled to report back that in the end all of this was possible.

The Smoothie

The birth itself went well but after that I lost about a litre of blood. Feeling understandably weak and weary from not just the birth but significant blood loss, the smoothie seemed miraculous. I had all three within 24 hours of the birth and I felt instantly renewed after the first.

I was still losing blood at this point and so the effects weren’t long lasting. However, by the time I had the second smoothie the bleeding had stopped and it had the same effect as the first, except this time it lasted.

I continued to improve and two hours later, I felt normal. My bloods were taken shortly after the second smoothie, this was to check my iron levels (from the doctors perspective this was related to the loss of blood, not the smoothie). What I think is particularly interesting is that after that amount of blood loss my iron levels were almost back to normal. So much so that I was neither prescribed nor advised that I would need any iron supplements.

In terms of the taste of the smoothie, I promise you, it tasted of smoothie, and nothing other than smoothie, no aftertaste, no textural change, just a regular banana and berry smoothie – I can’t recommend it enough!

Click here to go to our Placenta Remedies Network Smoothie Page

Simple Dried Vs Steamed Capsules

Both capsule types did keep me hormonally balanced. The only times I experienced hormonal blips was when I felt consumed and overwhelmed with pressure, unable to think straight or achieve much of anything other than walking in circles and shouting at everyone. This always happened on days when I’d forgotten to take my capsules. Thankfully there was always an easy and quick solution. I did find the potency of the simple dried capsules to be greater and in particular, I found that these would give a boost to my milk supply (which isn’t necessarily the outcome everyone wants).

I didn’t feel any difference in my energy levels which I appreciate others have reported but also I have (so far) a baby who sleeps pretty well (please don’t hate me – the first wasn’t like this, it’s a total fluke) so I’ve not found myself to be particularly low in energy at any point anyway.

Tincture, Essence and Homeopathic Remedy

I’m so pleased to feel I have continued to access my placenta through these longer life remedies.  I’ve not yet had much call to use any of them in response to an imbalance but I have used the tincture pre-emptively on days that I know are going to be particularly challenging. It’s hard to tell how I would have felt had I not taken it but I certainly found myself more in control of my moods than I do normally when in similar circumstances.  I can also report on the tastelessness of the remedy. The raw placenta or the capsule powder is removed from the remedy before its used but I imagine some people might feel there could be a taste to it and a taste you are more exposed to than when taking a capsule. I couldn’t even taste vodka (unfortunately!). I added 40 drops to 120ml of water (which isn’t a lot) and I couldn’t taste anything.

Facial Oil, Body Butter and Balm

The facial oil is amazing. My skin has never felt so good! I’ve added placenta oil and some essential oils of my choosing (rose, frankincense, patchouli & neroli) and not only do I now smell divine but my skin seems to lap it up. I wish I’d started using the facial oil before adding the placenta oil to be able to do a true comparison but either way, the facial oil is great and should you decide to add a placenta oil, I can’t see that you’ll be disappointed. Let’s face it (pun intended) cosmetic companies have been using animal placenta in skin care products (that I generally can’t afford) for years, much better I start to add my own placenta to my own skin care products made from ingredients with names I recognise and understand.

The body butter is buttery and luxurious. I’ve added the placenta oil and essential oils (Jasmine, Patchouli, Lavender and Frankincense) but I’m not particularly a body butter kind of girl and I actually don’t find it as effective long-term at moisturising my skin as the balm.

The balm is a bomb! I’m loving the balm. I’m using it more as an all over body moisturiser and again, I’ve added the placenta oil and essential oils (Lavender and frankincense). My skin is quite dry and where as I find I need to reapply the body butter after 12 hours, I don’t need to reapply the balm until the next day. 

And Finally

So that’s my experience of placenta remedies, it’s not going to be the same for everyone but we’re all different and so is every placenta. Whatever the outcome, I can only speak positively about my experience.”

Thanks Louise for sharing your placenta story, we loved reading it. If you want to share yours get in contact with us.