Numbers are fun! And since we don't yet have enough scientific research to tell us about the benefits parents who choose encapsulation experience, we have to rely on anecdotal evidence. To that end I wanted to share some fascinating data I've collected from Bywater Birth placenta encapsulation clients over the last year or so. Keep in mind this data set is small, 49 respondents, which represents about 1/3 of the clients we actually served during the time we collected these survey responses. So a big thank you to everyone who shared their experience with us. Note: This data was collected via a google form and was anonymous. My hope is that clients are sharing their true experience so we can trust this data as much as possible.
First some demographic information. Do you think that everyone who encapsulates their placenta is a "hippie mom" having a home birth? Think again! Our clientele births in a hospital 81% of the time. 16% had their baby at a birth center and only 1 respondent had a home birth though this may be influenced by the fact that a number of home birth midwives offer encapsulation as part of their package.
Our clients have three options when choosing how they want their placenta handled: The Traditional Method where the placenta is steamed first, which is based on Chinese Medicine, the Raw Start/Raw method where we skip the steaming step and slice the placenta raw for dehydration, or half of each method. You can see that nearly 80% of respondents chose the Traditional Method. 18% chose half and half and just 1 respondent chose the Raw Start/Raw method of preparation. When I look at my spreadsheet of all clients, it's more like 15-18% who choose the Raw Start method but since not everyone responded to my survey that is not reflected. Looking at the first 50 clients of 2017, the breakout is 16% half and half, 18% raw and 66% TM.
So if you're reading this post you probably know that lots of pregnant people choose encapsulation because they want to avoid postpartum mood disorders like anxiety and depression. We asked respondents if they had a history of mood disorders and if so, how it went having their placenta capsules to take after giving birth. As you can see about half of our clients did not have a history of depression or anxiety. But that means half did! Of those respondents, 36% did not have a mood disorder repeat after this baby. 12% did but it was less than before and 1 person said they had an experience similar to their previous experience. None of our respondents had an experience that was more severe than their past experience.
Many moms choose encapsulation to boost their milk supply. There is actually some controversy among lactation professionals about this topic. Some folks think taking placenta can cause a reduction in supply. It is true that when a piece of the placenta is retained in the uterus after birth, the hormones may not shift into breastfeeding mode and milk supply can be compromised because the body doesn't realize it isn't pregnant anymore. But that is a quite different thing from a very small amount of placenta passing through the body via the digestive track after the full placenta has been birthed and the hormonal shift has happened. Let's hope more research can be done on this topic. For now we can see that 89% of our respondents report an average supply or oversupply. Only 8% reported a low supply. The factors that influence milk supply are way too numerous to list here but I find this data interesting nonetheless.
Lastly, let's look at why clients are choosing encapsulation. Respondents were able to pick as many categories as they wanted. Nearly 88% chose encapsulation to help reduce postpartum depression and/or anxiety. 57% wanted to improve their milk supply. 45% wanted to boost iron levels. 49% were interested in nutritional benefits. 65% wanted faster healing after giving birth and 69% wanted higher energy levels. 2 people wanted it all! One person typed in "because I was curious about it" and another said "because it is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity," We agree!
What are the downsides of encapsulation? In this collection of data we asked what negative effects clients noticed. 4 people didn't like the taste or smell. (It is meaty!) One person thought taking capsules caused a rash on their stomach and thighs and another observed increased bleeding. One person thought the energy boost was too high early on when they needed to rest and sleep. One person got a headache if they forgot to take their capsules. And one other respondent was disappointed that there milk supply wasn't boosted further.
I am grateful to everyone who shared their experience with us and I'd like to close with some of the testimonials clients shared along with their responses. Past that you'll find a few other fun charts with some of the other questions we asked clients.
"I am so glad I chose to have my placenta encapsulated! I really could feel a difference in my mood and energy levels, which was especially vital in those first crazy sleep-deprived weeks after birth! I also noticed a boost in hair & nail growth with taking the placenta capsules."
"Working with Anne was easy and smooth - great customer service. While I have never been diagnosed or treated for postpartum depression, I still experienced some struggles with all the adjustment of a new baby after my daughter was born. I was hoping with encapsulating my placenta with my son I would experience a less extreme hormone shift and this would help me both physically and emotionally. The difference was certainly noticeable. I couldn't believe how fast my physical recovery was! There, of course was still an adjustment emotionally, but I felt much stronger in handling in. I would most certainly do encapsulation again and would happily use bywater birth."
"I am very satisfied with my overall experience with Bywater Birth's placenta encapsulation services. I'm not sure if it was a "placebo effect," but I believe I would have been in a much worse state emotionally (due to a history of major depressive disorder) if I had not done placenta encapsulation. After the delivery of my first and only child, and upon taking the placenta pills, I felt unusually calm and collected. Despite the intense physical, emotional, and spiritual roller-coaster that I was living in the weeks after the delivery of my son, I felt GOOD. My husband and I do not intend to have any more children. However, if we do decide to have a second child in the very distant future I would definitely encapsulate my placenta again."
"My son came 4 weeks early so I was nervous that I wouldn't be able to get my placenta done when he came since it wasn't close to his scheduled time. I text Anne letting her know I was in the hospital and my LO was coming early. She assured me that once he came someone will be there to pick up my placenta. It was a huge relief knowing that they were there during such a difficult time. Someone came to the hospital to pick up my placenta, and dropped my pills off a day or so later. All the nurses at the hospital was so surprised at how much I was producing, and still 3 months later we're going strong!"
"I decided about three weeks from my due date to do placenta encapsulation. I contacted Anne and she helped me through the process of understanding which method to choose and told me exactly what would happen after I had my baby. She arrived at the hospital two hours after I gave birth and took my placenta. She arrived back at the hospital 24 hours later with my pills and tincture and explained in detail how to take them. I never experienced postpartum depression (I've experienced it the last three babies), I had AMAZING energy, my milk supply allowed me to breast feed full time and build a 100oz freezer stash, and I healed 100 times faster! I wish I would've done this in the past! I am forever grateful for your services, I cannot thank you enough!"
"I think it's an amazing tool for women to recover. My husband had more postpartum symptoms and complaints than I did!"
"The process was extremely easy! It was so nice to be able to have my placenta picked-up right away from the hospital and then have my pills delivered back to me before I was discharged. I like having the pills around for times when I need some extra energy or milk. They have also helped to regulate my moods and lessen the acne I experienced after giving birth. I would definitely do it again. Thanks!"
"I have no previous births to compare to, however, I was shocked at how quickly I healed after an unplanned c section. I also had no post partum depression or any other negative after effects. I have heard that after a c section, and having to use a nipple shield, that a lot of mom's struggle with supply, but i have a great milk supply!!"
I am grateful to everyone who shared their experience with us and I'd like to close with some of the testimonials clients shared along with their responses. Past that you'll find a few other fun charts with some of the other questions we asked clients.
"I am so glad I chose to have my placenta encapsulated! I really could feel a difference in my mood and energy levels, which was especially vital in those first crazy sleep-deprived weeks after birth! I also noticed a boost in hair & nail growth with taking the placenta capsules."
"Working with Anne was easy and smooth - great customer service. While I have never been diagnosed or treated for postpartum depression, I still experienced some struggles with all the adjustment of a new baby after my daughter was born. I was hoping with encapsulating my placenta with my son I would experience a less extreme hormone shift and this would help me both physically and emotionally. The difference was certainly noticeable. I couldn't believe how fast my physical recovery was! There, of course was still an adjustment emotionally, but I felt much stronger in handling in. I would most certainly do encapsulation again and would happily use bywater birth."
"I am very satisfied with my overall experience with Bywater Birth's placenta encapsulation services. I'm not sure if it was a "placebo effect," but I believe I would have been in a much worse state emotionally (due to a history of major depressive disorder) if I had not done placenta encapsulation. After the delivery of my first and only child, and upon taking the placenta pills, I felt unusually calm and collected. Despite the intense physical, emotional, and spiritual roller-coaster that I was living in the weeks after the delivery of my son, I felt GOOD. My husband and I do not intend to have any more children. However, if we do decide to have a second child in the very distant future I would definitely encapsulate my placenta again."
"My son came 4 weeks early so I was nervous that I wouldn't be able to get my placenta done when he came since it wasn't close to his scheduled time. I text Anne letting her know I was in the hospital and my LO was coming early. She assured me that once he came someone will be there to pick up my placenta. It was a huge relief knowing that they were there during such a difficult time. Someone came to the hospital to pick up my placenta, and dropped my pills off a day or so later. All the nurses at the hospital was so surprised at how much I was producing, and still 3 months later we're going strong!"
"I decided about three weeks from my due date to do placenta encapsulation. I contacted Anne and she helped me through the process of understanding which method to choose and told me exactly what would happen after I had my baby. She arrived at the hospital two hours after I gave birth and took my placenta. She arrived back at the hospital 24 hours later with my pills and tincture and explained in detail how to take them. I never experienced postpartum depression (I've experienced it the last three babies), I had AMAZING energy, my milk supply allowed me to breast feed full time and build a 100oz freezer stash, and I healed 100 times faster! I wish I would've done this in the past! I am forever grateful for your services, I cannot thank you enough!"
"I think it's an amazing tool for women to recover. My husband had more postpartum symptoms and complaints than I did!"
"The process was extremely easy! It was so nice to be able to have my placenta picked-up right away from the hospital and then have my pills delivered back to me before I was discharged. I like having the pills around for times when I need some extra energy or milk. They have also helped to regulate my moods and lessen the acne I experienced after giving birth. I would definitely do it again. Thanks!"
"I have no previous births to compare to, however, I was shocked at how quickly I healed after an unplanned c section. I also had no post partum depression or any other negative after effects. I have heard that after a c section, and having to use a nipple shield, that a lot of mom's struggle with supply, but i have a great milk supply!!"
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