A bit about my Placenta Encapsulation Experience

I started my research in August 2008 when I found I was pregnant with my second child.  With my Biology BSc Honors background from University I had the science background knowledge to pursue this further and unusual holistic healing traditions interest me greatly. 
I began to study the uses for placenta around the world and came across some interesting findings.  I was most interested in the dehydration and encapsulation method called placenta encapsulation, which seemed the most modern and un-invasive way the benefit from the placenta.  By 'encapsulation' I mean, steaming, dehydrating then grinding the placenta into a fine powder to then be inserted into vegetable capsules.  This also allows the placenta to work its magic over a long period of time - usually the first 6 weeks post-natal.  I decided this is what I wanted to do with my placenta so researching the best method and best equipment took the most time.  I also decided to stick to the Traditional Chinese Medicine preparation using some spices to aid in the recovery.

In the summer of 2008, I got in touch with a couple of women through a natural mothers group I belong to and two women came forward (one of them now trained to offer the services herself) offering me the chance to 'experiment' with their placentas in attempt to make my first capsules.  One of the mothers suffered severely from post-natal depression after the birth of her first and felt she would try anything to avoid those symptoms from returning.  Both encapsulations were a total success and both women couldn't recommend it enough.  Both said they felt happier, more in control, they had a plentiful milk supply for baby, they bled less and never felt overwhelmed or anxious.  So many negative symptoms are referred to as 'normal' for women to suffer from after birth, but when using placenta capsules after birth, this is not the case.  Most of my clients feel great after birth and for many months to come, saying they truly believe their capsules were the key to their speedy recovery.

I gave birth to my son on 21st March 2009, at home in water, and used my placenta in many ways after the birth.  First, I placed a small piece of the raw placenta inside my lip (on my gums) and allowed the hormones and nutrients to be absorbed into my body immediately.  This was done to stop post-natal bleeding.  When the placenta detaches from the uterine wall it leaves a large bleeding wound that takes time and much nutrients and hormones to heal.  The placenta is packed with rich growth factors called cytokines that stimulate cell mitosis or cell division, the making of new cells, essential when healing the body and for repair and regeneration of damaged tissue.  However after birth new mothers are depleted of the normal levels of growth factors in their body and need extra help to heal the body after birth.  This is where the placenta plays a key role.
I also enjoyed a 'Raw Placenta Smoothie' (now very popular with my clients), which is made with organic berry fruits and about a palm sized chunk of raw placenta blended into a smoothie.  Within 10 hours my milk had 'come-in' (this usually takes 3-4 days) and my bleeding had nearly stopped (bleeding usually takes at least 3-6 weeks to stop).  My midwife was amazed at these results and astounded with the amount of energy I had after birth too. 
I also cooked, dried and encapsulated the remaining of my placenta which I took 1-3 times a day for about 4 months. I called them my happy pills. 

Since my sons birth I was inspired by this lost tradition.  I began to research the uses for the placenta in history and found that many midwives all around the world, including Europe used the placenta for a number of different healing uses during pregnancy, birth and post-natal.  According to Jacques Gelis in the book, History of Childbirth: Fertility, Pregnancy and Birth in Early Modern Europe, there were Placenta Apothecary's in the 1700's who human placenta powder with them to assist midwives with difficult births, it seemed to help repel the baby or placenta if labour had slowed or halted.  In some cultures the placenta was placed directly onto the newborn to allow the healing heat energy to be absorbed into the newborn.  The placenta can also be used this way to cure very bad skin conditions like dermatitis, says Cornelia Enning in her book, Placenta: The Gift of Life.
1800's Western world the placenta began to lose its recognition when male doctors took over and destroyed the natural birthing traditions.  Once Gynaecology and Obstetrics were invented, birthing women were strapped to tables, forced to be put to sleep with ether cones and babies where wripped from their womb, quite literally and any ancient placenta healing methods were lost with this male take-over.  Midwives were burned at the stake for being 'witches', changing birth forever.  Male doctors found the placenta repulsive and thought if the mother ate her placenta she was likely to eat her own baby.  Even farmers began to remove the placenta from their animals before the new mother had a chance to ingest it.  The placenta has become non-existent and is regularly wasted, sent for incineration by the hospitals.

There are some excellent books that will give you more information about this:
Birth: The surprising History of how we are born By Tina Cassidy
and
History of Childbirth: Fertility, Pregnancy and Birth in Early Modern Europe by Jacques Gelis (this book has an entire chapter dedicated to the Placenta)

In the last 30-40 years many women all over Europe and the US are rediscovering natural birth and how a drug-free, relaxed and un-medicalised.  In Eastern parts of the world the placenta still remains sacred.  In Africa, New Zealand and some parts of Australia many women still bury the placenta under a tree in the garden of the family home.  The placenta is  a gift back to the earth that brought the new baby to life.  There are many other ancient placental traditions from other cultures using to some sort of ceremony to honour the placenta.  Only in China and other surrounding Eastern countries do women still consume their placenta after birth.  Placenta powder is considered a very powerful medicine and even placenta injections are given in Korea in spa-like venues where a busy, over-worked business men and women can have a vile of placenta extract pumped into their veins to re-boost the tired body and rebuild the immune system.  http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2009/07/113_4890.html
You can currently purchase placenta extract online as well as sheep placenta tablets in powder form that claim to have anti-ageing effects, help with skin disorders and 'make you look younger'.  http://www.australianproducts.info/Placenta.htm

I believe the placenta works well in all these forms however I like to encourage women to use the placenta the way nature intends it - after birth to heal the body and bring fresh nutrients the mother and the the baby through the mothers milk. 

What seems to bewilder me the most was that UK ante-natal classes and birth preparation workshops seem to focus so much attention on the baby after birth...but what about the new mother who's just given birth; everything is sore and tender, including our emotions?  Birth can be very traumatic, both emotionally and physically.  New mothers do not expect to feel so depleted after birth.  They are warned of slight baby blues however not aware of the actual physical consequence birth has on the body.  The first few weeks after birth are a very difficult time, with low energy, no sleep, low iron levels, irregular hormones and fewer female family members nearby available to assist a new, healing mother, its no wonder 1 in 10 women in this country suffer from post-natal depression.  I am determined to try and put an end to this unnecessary post-birth misery by promoting the use of the placenta post-birth, what nature gave us to heal - the placenta is the new mothers personal healing gift from our new baby.  Our babies are saying, "Here mum, I've made this for you so you can look after me better!"

I launched Koala Therapies Placenta Encapsulation UK, now known as IPEN as a service in the UK in May 2009 and have had positive feedback from all my clients ever since, over 150 women in the UK have now used our services.  I receive enquiries almost daily and have had such positive response from so many different people.  I help between 2-5 women a month benefit from their placenta and most of my trained Specialists are also as successful in their communities.

The Placenta Encapsulation process: I collect the placenta within 24 hours after birth either at home or in hospital, and make the capsules in my home.  I also can make a placenta smoothie in hospital or home for immediate benefit for the new mother.  I usually deliver the capsules within 24 hours back to the mother where-ever she may be.

My placenta has completely changed my life.  It all makes so much sense to me, however I'm very aware that most people think I'm totally bonkers - rest assured, there is huge amounts of evidence and research to support my views and I hope that some day soon, the NHS will be supporting us too! 
x Lynnea

Giving vaccines a second thought

IN THE UK OUR CHILDREN NOW RECEIVE 19-22 VACCINES BEFORE THEY ARE 6 MONTHS OLD.

Each jab has several vaccines and many other toxic substances which I will go into later. Here is the current vaccine schedule for the UK.

Now, if you are sitting at home and wondering what the heck I'm going on about then open up that little NHS white booklet your health visitor gave you about vaccinations, if you still have it. Now, turn to the back of the booklet, page 44 which reads, "Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme"
It clearly states, "Most immunisations are given without any trouble at all, but very rarely there may be problems. The Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme is designed to help with the present and future financial burdens of the person affected by the vaccination and their family. It covers all the vaccines described in this booklet except hepatitis B vaccine. There are several conditions that need to be met before a payment can be made."

This page alone should make any parent think twice before allowing their children to have a vaccination. Now, why on earth would the NHS have a payment scheme for something that is 'the safest way to protect our children'. If they are prepared to take precautionary measures for the damage that 'may' be caused by vaccines, shouldn't us as parents be made aware of what this damage could be?
Well, that would contradict their claim of safety.

I'm writing this post to spark a light, maybe touch a nerve or perhaps giggle the brain of any parent who doesn't have time to do the research themselves. I've spent hours and hours every week for the last few years in front of my computer, reading dozens of books and researching the effects vaccines can/do have on our children. I was once a parent who believed my doctor knew all and for reasons I find hard to swallow now, completely allowed the injection of hazards material to be delivered directly into my daughters legs 3 times before she was 6 months old. That was 4 years ago. My daughter is now 4.5 years old, my son is now 1.5 years old and I am proud to say I will never allow any vaccine near my children or my family for as long as I live.

You may be thinking I'm crazy and I'm a typical scared parent who is worried my children may suffer from autism as a result of vaccines because of Dr. Wakefields study. You may have never even heard of Dr. Wakefield. But if this post simply hits a nerve or awakens some thoughts you may have had in your years as a parent, don't stop there...look, find, read, study, research and get in touch with the right people. There is so much more information about vaccines that should be given to new parents, but isn't, all for the wrong reasons. If you have the slightest doubt then just say 'no' to your GP, 'not right now, I'm still looking into it'. Nothing, absolutely nothing can cause your child any harm in waiting until your absolutely suer! I promise!

For a support group near you view the Arnica parents Network - Supporting natural Immunity

How can this happen?

My heart goes out to the parents of the twins who died of an overdose of medication from incompetent hospital staff in North Staffordshire NHS Hospital. How can this happen?

In my opinion, the safest place to give birth is in the home, away from the medication, drugs - far from intervention. Intervention into birth in the number one cause of c-sections and difficult deliveries, resulting in stressed and heartbroken parents, sick babies and the leading cause of post-natal depression.

Back to basics. Midwives in the 1700's had is all going right. Yes, there were problems, don't get me wrong. Mothers died in childbirth which is rare these days so I'm not going to knock obstetrics, but obstetrics shouldn't define birth itself. In those days natural birth was the norm and most women had a calm, drug-free birth at home in the hands of a caring and experienced midwife.

Birth has been so controlled for so long that most women simply believe they can no longer do it themselves. By admitting yourself into hospital during at the first sign of contractions, it's an immediate admission of failure, defeat before the birth has even begun. I'm not blaming the mothers, I'm blaming the system. I'm blaming the lack of support and knowledge given to expectant mothers and the lack of training and time available to NHS midwives...I'm blaming the NHS. It's not just England, America is much worse. 50% of babies born in America are by c-section and an incredible 80% of babies born in South Africa are by elected c-section! Is that really necessary? Are women simply incapable of birthing? Should women really be handing over the fate of their babies and themselves in the hands of a team of doctors?

My heart goes out the parents who lost their twins. My heart goes out to their family, because before they lost their twins they got lost in the system, the very system that stole their babies lives and their own hearts.

A moment of silence. x

Read the full article here

Launching Placenta Encapsulation - IPEN

I've not visited the blog in ages, to be honest I forgot my password and couldn't log in. I regret it, needing to say and share so much in these last few months. So much has happened!

My newest launch has been with IPEN, my new International informational website based purely on remedies made with the placenta. After my own wonderful experience with placenta encapsulation I decided to share my story and give the gift of placenta capsules to UK moms. I've helped over 70 new mothers in the last year and a half but collecting and transforming their placenta into capsules.

Please visit my new website. I hope you enjoy all the information, articles and research that has gone into this amazing service! xx Lynnea