Strangers call me a sicko!
My favourite smoothie might turn your stomach...
Jay Woodall, 33, Fleet, Hampshire
Taking a swig from my juicy red smoothie, I licked my lips. Delicious!
‘Can I have some?’ my son Demitrius, then 2, asked.
It was 28 December 2014, and I smiled as he chugged it, smacking his lips.
But this was no ordinary fruit drink.
It contained one very special ingredient… My own placenta! It had all started when I was pregnant with my first child, Logan, in 2008.
I read an article which explained how consuming a placenta could have many health benefits.
It could raise your energy levels, help to balance your hormones...
You could blend it and drink it, or grind it into capsules.
‘I’m going to give it a try,’ I told my hubby Jon, now 35.
Thankfully he’s pretty open-minded!
But then I couldn’t find a local company who could help me, so my precious placenta ended up in the bin.
It was the same when Demitrius was born in 2012.
I’d opted for home births in a paddling pool for them both. I said no to pain relief, and had my births filmed. I’d even had their
umbilical cords dried and made into decorations and precious keepsakes.
Finally, when I was pregnant with my third, in 2014, I found a local placenta specialist.
‘She makes them into smoothies,’ I told Jon.
‘Well, it’s not the craziest thing you’ve done!’ he winked.
So when River was born in December 2014, I went for it.
I had a home birth – the kids were nearly clambering in the pool!
My placenta looked beautiful – like a small, red tree.
‘I’d like to keep it,’ I told the midwife as I cradled baby River.
‘Oh... right you are,’ she said, shocked. Before I knew it, it’d been plonked into a plastic bowl, covered in clingfilm and popped in the fridge.
Just like any leftovers!
The placenta specialist, Carly, came round later that day.
She chopped my placenta in two.
Cutting one portion into chunks, she popped them into a
blender, raw.
Then she added coconut water and berries before giving it a good whiz.
Jon grimaced as I took a first sip.
When I offered it to him, he refused, until Carly explained some of the possible health benefits.
‘Go on then!’ he said.
He loved it, and so did little Demitrius.
Carly ground down the rest and made it into capsules.
It made 150 pills – and to begin with, I took them twice a day. But my milk production was crazy! So I went down to one every other day, so they lasted me most of the year.
My energy levels went through the roof, even with a newborn.
‘This stuff is magic,’ I told Jon.
And it’d only cost £180 for the lot.
So, when our fourth child, Storm, arrived on 31 July last year, I did the same.
The placenta really is a beautiful thing.
‘It’s like the tree of life,’ I tell people.
Storm is 11 months old now and I still take my placenta capsules every day.
They really do work a treat – I’m buzzing.
How many mums with four kids can say that?
Yes, some people think I’m strange.
And I know certain experts and studies have questioned whether there are any health benefits to eating your placenta. But I don’t care. I feel happier, healthier and more energised.
Plus, I can think of worse things to eat!
It was popped in the fridge, just like any leftovers!