Since someone just asked me what I thought about a mother eating her placenta, I thought I'd open the discussion here for you all to enter in as well.

Many moms are finding that eating bits of their placenta reduces postpartum hemorr-haging and also postpartum depression. But what does the Bible have to say about doing this? In the list of curses for disobedience in Deuteronomy chapter 28, we read the following:

"Moreover all these curses shall come upon you and pursue and overtake you, until you are destroyed, because you did not obey the voice of the LORD your God, to keep His commandments and His statutes which He commanded you. And they shall be upon you for a sign and a wonder, and on your descendants forever. Because you did not serve the LORD your God with joy and gladness of heart, for the abundance of everything, therefore ... The tender and delicate woman among you, who would not venture to set the sole of her foot on the ground because of her delicateness and sensitivity, will refuse to the husband of her bosom, and to her son and her daughter, her placenta which comes out from between her feet and her children whom she bears; for she will eat them secretly for lack of everything in the siege and desperate straits in which your enemy shall distress you at all your gates." (Deuteronomy 28:45-57, NKJV)

So while scripture does not specifically forbid eating one's placenta, it is mentioned in the context of being cursed rather than blessed. It is also put on an equal plane with eating one's own children (which we know is not an act that El Shaddai condones). 

Perhaps there are some equally good natural (and biblically blessed) means of lessening postpartum depression and hemorrhaging through herbs or other supplements. What are a few of your favorite methods?

Did you know that there is a very accurate way to predict when your period will start? You can know for sure, about two weeks in advance. How? Well, it's all thanks to a fixed number of days in your cycle called your luteal phase. But, you might say, "My cycle is never the same length--it's different every month, and I never know when 'Aunt Flow' is coming for a visit!" If you think that, think again, because I'm going to let you in on a little secret that shouldn't be a secret, but should be taught to every 13-year-old girl. 

Here is another insightful post from the Above Rubies Facebook page. As the AR founder, Nancy Campbell, says, "Many women don't understand the function of the pill, and all women have the responsibility to understand this information."

"When birth control came out in the 70's, the estrogen levels were so high ovulation never happened. The women never released an egg. They found out about 10 to 15 years later, after women started dying that the estrogen level was too high. They stopped adding so much estrogen, but that also left a higher risk of releasing an egg or a higher risk of pregnancy. To counter the risk of ovulation or pregnancy they started adding progestin. Progestin does not prevent ovulation, so what does it do?

"Birth Control with Estrogen and Progestin work together like this:

I have been studying natural childbirth a good bit recently, and am seeing how some pain reduction techniques for childbirth and labor could help with monthly cramps as well. The key is relaxing into the pain rather than tensing up and resisting it. 

How could relaxing reduce pain? Well, the uterus is built of two opposing types of muscles:  longitudinal muscles, which are mostly on the top of the uterus; and circular muscles, which form the lower half of the uterus. During labor, or monthly cramping, for that matter, longitudinal muscles contract to clear things out, but if a woman tenses up, the circular muscles lower down "close the outlet, maintaining the uterus in its unemptied state. ... Then the muscles that empty the uterus and the muscles that hold it closed are working
against each other" (Childbirth Without Fear,  Grantly Dick-Read, M.D., p. 67) and pain results. Just as it can become painful when the bladder needs to be emptied but the timing isn't convenient, so there is unnecessary pain when half of the muscles of the womb are trying to clear out the uterus but the other half are tense and constricted. 

Did you know about the benefits of sleeping with the same light as the phase of the moon?  Scientific studies have shown that it can help regulate irregular periods and more!  This article is very informative: The Full Moon's Pull on Fertility: How Lunaception can Affect a Woman's Menstrual Cycle.

Here's the key: "When constant artificial light plagues a woman's bedroom, her melatonin production becomes limited. This can lead to irregular cycles and unpredictable phases of fertility or infertility. In some cases, this lack of hormones will also shorten the luteal phase, making conception more difficult. When women embrace a more natural pattern of light [sleeping in the dark until it's a full moon], thedir bodies will fall into a comfortable rhythm."

If you try it, let us know what you notice in a comment below!

Since more and more ladies are using Pleasant Pads for minor incontinence and feeling wonderful relief from abandoning the toxic pads they had been using every day, I thought it would be helpful to post a blog on how to lessen incontinence naturally!    If you don't need these tips for yourself, remember them to share with friends who may be greatly encouraged by them!

1. For one thing, ladies are reporting that using cloth Pleasant Pads has lessened the problem.  (See testimonials.)  

Need an extra boost for feminine health or hormonal support?  
Essential oils not only smell great, but they can help balance hormones, calm cramps, and knock out infections too!  Some of them (like oil of oregano) are scientifically proven to be as powerful as penicillin (with no side effects)!  All therapeutic grade oils are anti-bacterial, anti-viral, and anti-fungal.  

And there are some that are ideally suited for womanly health.  Dragon Time, for one.  What a name!  Can you guess what it's good for?  Regulating hormones during the "way of women"?  You got it!  According to The Essential Oils Desk Reference (a book that makes you feel like your own doctor - you can look up any ailment and see what oil helps it), Dragon Time helps relieve PMS, balance mood swings and calm cramps.  Sound like you need a bottle on hand?

Bet you didn't know that most conventional laundry detergents have cancer-causing toxic chemicals in them!  Take a look (if you don't want to read the technical language, just look at the bold print):

According to the Organic Consumer's Association: 
"The alkylphenol ethoxylates (APEs) used in some detergents and cleaners have been shown to mimic the hormone estrogen; one APE... has caused estrogen-sensitive breast cancer cells to multiplyin a test tube study."

Guess what?  That chemical is banned in Canada and most of Europe (according to this site).  But the US still allows it in detergents.

What do avocados remind you of?  Hint: the pear shape and the big seed in the middle.  A womb!!  
It turns out that avocados are actually really good for women - the oils in them are great for your womb!  It's incredible that the Creator put signatures in food to show what each is good for based on what they look like!  For another example - walnuts look like a brain, and they're actually good for the brain. And what do you know!  Beets are great for rebuilding your blood. Many more foods look like what they're good for. This principle is called "The Doctrine of Signatures."
So eat plenty of avocados and beets during your next period!