The journey into motherhood is only beginning the moment the baby is born. Next comes the real discoveries of creating a relationship with this new little person as well as the daunting tasks of 24 hour care, feeding, diapering, and integrating into the new life as parents. For most parents the joyful transition of welcoming baby tests every element of their life including a huge change for the mother’s body as she prepares to nourish the baby and release the hormones of pregnancy.
The good news is that Mother Nature has prepared the way to support this journey. Just as mom didn’t need to get up each day and consciously say “today we build the lungs of this baby” and set to work and instead learned to rely on her body’s inner wisdom, this wisdom comes prepared to follow through when the baby is born to provide support well into the postpartum period.
New research has shed light on the incredible intricacies of Mother Nature’s design at the moment of birth. As the baby reaches the breast and latches on, activating the miraculous customized milk supply made just for this baby, in this moment mom feels the rush of the peak experience of birth as oxytocin spreads through her system that will protect her and baby from numerous postpartum concerns including hemorrhage, depression, lack of bonding and disease, as well as providing the baby a lifetime supply of health benefits.
In addition to breastfeeding, stem cell research has many families now considering the value of the baby’s cord blood by either delaying clamping (so that baby can fully receive it’s cord blood at birth), banking or donating their baby’s cord blood.
And now new light has been shed on the powers of the placenta itself and it’s post-pregnancy healing properties that can protect a mother’s transition into postpartum. Just as the placenta has nourished a perfectly unique baby via it’s protective role, the mother herself can be nourished by her own placenta to help her recover from the dramatic hormonal shift in postpartum.
A carefully prepared placenta can be turned into pills that the mother can then consume as a supplement from early postpartum until menopause.
Placenta medicine pills may help to:
• Increase general energy
• Allow a quicker return to health after birth
• Increase production of breast milk
• Decrease likelihood of baby blues and post natal depression
• Decrease likelihood of iron deficiency
• Decrease likelihood of insomnia or sleep disorders
• Assist through menopausal hormonal changes.
(Provided by Placenta Benefits: www.placentabenefits.info)
What may have been viewed as a survival technique of other mammals, or reserved for indigenous cultures or the more hippy-esque of our culture, is now rapidly gaining acceptability amongst the conscious perhaps eco/sustainability-minded new parent.
“Mother Nature is the ultimate sustainable and efficient provider. She knows exactly how to provide the perfect nourishment for both mother and baby and the placenta holds many of the properties to ensure that,” said Raeben Nolan, a placenta encapsulation specialist and birth doula with Mother Tree, also known as the “placenta lady” in Portland, OR.
Nolan will prepare the placenta, dry it and turn it into a powder then encapsulate it for later consumption by the mother for a small fee. She also includes placenta art, the baby's cord dried in heart-shape, and a tincture.
“It is well known in oriental medicine and homeopathy that relies much on the energy and healing properties of all sorts of materials including plants, animals and minerals. There is nothing more suited to the mother and her baby than the specific placenta energy that she herself has made,” commented Nolan.
Some research in homeopathy shows it can be turned into the constitutional remedy for the child as well that then becomes their own natural “reset” button for boosting their body's natural healing abilities, Nolan added.
Nolan has served several dozen clients in the Portland area and has seen an upswing in requests from home birth, birth center and hospital birth clients.
In order to preserve the placenta, it must be fresh, and refrigerated soon after birth or frozen. Ideally , it is best to start preparing the placenta the same day as the birth so some prior planning is important says Nolan.
For more details feel free to contact Raeben Nolan at raeben@mothertreebirth.com or 503-380-2408.
