PLACENTA SERVICES

Cord KeepsakeThe first time I saw a new mother eat her placenta was when I was 7 years old.  My dog Cha-Cha had just given birth to 6 puppies, and without hesitation, she gobbled down the afterbirth.  I can still remember the look on her face.  She didn’t eat it for pleasure or because she was hungry.  Her instinct told her she HAD to do it.   God has a plan for a healthy recovery from birth for us mammals, and my chihuahua was following it.

The placenta is a fascinating organ:   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Placenta  It provides life and nutrition for the growing baby, everyone knows that.  But not everyone knows what the benefits can be to the postpartum mother.  My first doula client who consume her placenta was a oriental medicine practitioner.  I didn’t even know she was planning on preparing it.  When I went to see her for her postpartum visit, I was amazed at how good she looked!  I had never seen a mother so vibrant.   She was the first mother I experienced who had benefited from her placenta.

Then a year later I had a second time client who had a very rough postpartum experience the first time around.  I encouraged her to look into placenta encapsulation for this upcoming birth.  Her postpartum experience was completely different while taking the placenta capsules.  With her first baby, she had problems with her milk supply, energy levels and had bad depression.  Now, taking care of a new baby and a toddler AND taking exams for nursing school, she was radiant.  She had abundant milk, lots of energy and felt great!  I was sold.

For thousands of years, the placenta has been used to avoid postpartum symptoms such as: depression, low vitality, fatigue, insufficient lactation, and hormonal imbalance.

According to the Independent Placenta Encapsulation Network website: The most important nutrients found in rich supply in the placenta include:
  • Iron – essential for oxygen absorption in the cells
  • vitamins B6 – aids in the making of antibodies
  • Vitamin E – for healing damaged skin cells
  • Oxytocin hormone – essential for facilitating birth and breastfeeding
  • Corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) – responsible for reducing stress levels
  • Cytokins – Fibroblasts that trigger cell metabolism healing and replacing damaged cells and tissue

The Potential Benefits Placenta Encapsulation**

You may experience:

  • a quicker recovery from birth
  • shorten postpartum bleeding time
  • a feeling of balance
  • less mood swings (especially important if you have a history of depression)
  • an increase in energy
  • an increase in postpartum iron levels.
  • an increase in your milk supply

The Process

Placenta CapsulesFirst of all, you need to make sure you are able to obtain your placenta from your chosen birth place. If you are having a homebirth or a birth center birth, keeping your placenta is usually more common than not. Hospitals have come around quite a bit in the last 10 years! It used to be like asking for the moon! Now often enough, the nurses will ask if you plan to keep your placenta (especially if you’ve got your yoga playlist going and are diffusing clary sage.)

After you sign up for services with me, I email you instructions on how to work with your hospital, so obtaining your placenta will be simple and easy. Wherever you are, I come to you for pick-up and delivery. Placentas do have a “shelf life” and should be put on ice or refrigerated and prepared within 72 hours of birth. If this is not possible, the placenta can be frozen and prepared at a later date (not ideal).

Placenta KitchenI do all my encapsulation work in my designated placenta kitchen which my husband built for me in our garage. You are welcome to come see it! All my equipment is cleaned with a 10% diluted bleach solution after every use. I take pride in how clean my kitchen is. It’s spotless.

I will prepare your placenta according to your personal preferences and your personal constitution. There are many ways to consume your placenta, including raw or frozen cubes, raw dehydrated capsules or steamed dehydrated capsules or a tincture. I don’t have an online booking format, I only take bookings over the phone because we should discuss what you’d like to receive from your placenta and agree on the best method of individual preparation for you.

Placentas vary in size, so the total amount of capsules that a placenta can yield can be from 75-130. The number of capsules is always perfect for that mom, because she made the placenta. Vegan capsules are always used.

Fee:  $300

Placenta printAdditional items include:
  • Placenta Tincture ( 4 oz. placenta-infused high-grade alcohol): $40
  • Placenta Print (keepsake done on watercolor paper): $10

** The information on this page has not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The services I offer are not clinical, pharmaceutical, or intended to diagnose or treat any condition. Families who choose to utilize the services on this page take full responsibility for researching and using the remedies. **