Do the benefits of eating/drinking your own placenta extend to preventing postpartum depression in women? One mom in Norwich thinks so. Nikki Welling, 34, is encouraging new mums to collect their placenta and blend it into a smoothie or capsule. She claims that it helped her overcome many of the problems she experienced after giving birth. So much so that she has quit her job to launch a ‘placenta smoothie’ business.
According to the Mirror Online, the former commercial actress “suffered from post-natal depression with her first-born Jensen, six, and was desperate to feel good when she discovered she was pregnant for a second time with Hudson, four, in 2014. She was willing to give anything a go to avoid ‘baby blues’, even if it meant drinking her own placenta. She loved the concoction of mixed berries and placenta so much she decided to make a living out of it.”
Nikki says, “I can honestly say with my hand on my heart that my birth recovery was unbelievable thanks to consuming my placenta. I had opted for placenta smoothies and capsules.”
What Is Postpartum Depression?
Postpartum depression is something that is usually swept under the rug for most women. This type of depression occurs after having a baby. The feelings of postpartum depression are more intense and last longer. More than those that are typically referred to as “baby blues”. Baby blues are a term used to describe the worry, sadness, and tiredness many women experience after having a baby. “Baby blues” symptoms typically resolve on their own within 10 days.
With postpartum depression, feelings of sadness, loneliness, worthlessness, restlessness, and anxiety last much longer than a few weeks. After having a baby, many women have mood swings. They can feel happy one minute, and the next minute, they will cry. According to Family Doctor, “they may feel a little depressed, have a hard time concentrating, lose their appetite, or find that they can’t sleep well, even when the baby is asleep. These symptoms usually start about 3 to 4 days after delivery and may last several days.”
The Placenta Business
Nikki launched ‘Cherished Placentas’ in 2018 and now spends her days traveling between East Anglia and London to collect placentas to return them in either smoothie or capsule form. According to her, she “felt on top of the world even though I had a cesarean and a 14-month-old baby to care for, I knew I had to spread the word and offer other mummies the opportunity to feel good after a baby.”
She is, however, on-call 24/7 as the moms ring her. Basically, as soon as they have given birth, she heads over to collect. Once she has collected it in a chiller container, she goes back to the unit to rinse and prepare it before cutting it into slides and leaving it to dehydrate. Then, after a few hours, the placenta is either put into a grinder and then made into capsules or a walnut portion is blended with mixed berries, organic banana, and spring water to create a delicious smoothie. She says many women opt for both. For her, the reward is knowing she has helped the mother with baby blues, PND, and have a speedy recovery after birth.
