Your placenta…What an amazing organ! It nourishes your baby as they grow every moment in utero, and it will continue to provide your baby with oxygenated blood cells and life force for the first couple of hours after birth.

​

Did you know that it could nourish you during your babymoon time? Unlike nearly every other mammal on Earth, humans have evolved away from ingesting all or part of their placentas after giving birth. The placenta contains your own natural hormones and is perfectly made for you, by you.  The placenta is rich hormones which when replaced in the body confer significant benefits to the new mother and her baby. We know that some of the beneficial affects of ingesting your placenta include: reduction in the incidence and severity of postpartum depression, reduction of postpartum pain and discomfort, minimization of postpartum bleeding, and increased success in breastfeeding.  In wisdom’s terms, it brings the body back into balance, replenishing what was lost during childbirth.  The placenta can also be use, if encapsulated, to help you with the changes of our menopausal years

​

Willow River Midwifery can help you learn your options for this amazing organ, which might include: preparing small amounts to add to a nourishing meal or smoothie, tiny amounts added to a nourishing smoothie, dehydrating and encapsulating, making a tincture, burying near a special bush, making creative and artful placenta prints, or sending it home with your midwife.