So You're Considering Encapsulating Your Placenta — Here's What You Need to Know
by ParentCo.
August 30, 2017
Are you considering hiring a specialist to encapsulate your placenta?
Placenta encapsulation is an awesome process that transforms your baby’s placenta into capsules. You can take your "placenta pills" as a postpartum wellness supplement. Placenta encapsulation can
improve your overall postpartum recovery experience, and may help: balance hormones, support lactation and enhance milk supply, replenish iron, minerals, and vitamins, mitigate postpartum bleeding, provide natural pain relief, ease "Baby Blues," decrease severity of postpartum mood disorders, and boost energy.
Once you have decided that encapsulation is right for you, the next step is to find a qualified placenta specialist. So you search Google for "Placenta Encapsulation near me," but what next?
Here are six tips to help you hire the best placenta encapsulation specialist:
Find a specialist who is "triple trained"
Placenta services are an unregulated industry, but there are certain standards, trainings, and precautions your professional specialist should follow. You want to find a placenta encapsulation specialist who has:
Ask your prospective placenta encapsulator with whom they have trained. Check out their certifying agency’s website to learn about the curriculum and requirements. Is their organization listed with the Better Business Bureau? If yes, what is their rating? Does internet search results return positive feedback? You can search for a placenta encapsulation specialist in your area by using
this directory.
2 | A current food safety certification
A
food safety certification ensures that your placenta encapsulation specialist has tested knowledge in food hazards, proper hygiene practices, cleaning and sanitizing processes, and time and temperature controls.
3 | Completed an OSHA compliant Bloodborne Pathogens training
It is crucial that your placenta encapsulation specialist has demonstrated competency regarding the precautionary guidelines and decontamination practices for handling potentially infectious and biologically hazardous materials. The professional you hire should have completed the
Biologix Solutions Bloodborne Pathogens Training for Doulas and Placenta Encapsulators or something similar.
Decide which preparation method is right for you
There are two preparation styles for placenta encapsulation, the Raw Foods Inspired method and the Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) method.
1 | Raw foods inspired method
This method is based largely on the principles surrounding the
raw foods philosophy of eating. Raw foods principles teach that food is most nutritious if it is heated no higher than 118 degrees Fahrenheit. Above this temperature certain enzymes will begin to degrade. For the Raw Foods preparation, your placenta is cleaned, sliced, then dehydrated at either 110 degrees Fahrenheit or 160 degrees Fahrenheit overnight. The
Association of Placenta Preparation Arts recommends drying the placenta at the higher temperature of 160 degrees Fahrenheit to ensure any possible pathogens are eliminated. Then your placenta is ground into a fine powder and placed in capsules. With this placenta process, it is thought that the potency of hormones and nutrients will be best preserved and available for your body.
2 | Traditional Chinese medicine method
Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) has been incorporating placenta in powerful remedies for 1400 years. It is used to increase lactation and augment the "Qi" or life energy, after birth. The many hormones and nutrients found in placenta, can help you heal and find optimal balance during the postpartum transition period. With the TCM method, your placenta is cleaned, lightly steamed with ginger and myrrh, sliced thin, and dehydrated overnight. Then your placenta is ground into a fine powder and placed into capsules. Steaming the placenta with "warming herbs" is an integral part of this preparation method. In Traditional Chinese Medicine, a mother’s postpartum body requires heat and warmth to replenish the energy that is lost during childbirth. Raw foods are generally seen as a cooling element. Therefore, consuming raw placenta is not recommended for the tonifying elements needed to nourish the blood and restore energy and balance to the body.
Know where your specialist performs their work
A placenta encapsulation specialist will prepare your placenta either in their work space or in their client’s home. With both work spaces, your "triple trained" placenta encapsulation specialist should implement identical sanitizing protocol. Also with both methods, capsules will usually be processed and made available within 72 hours of birth.
1 | Specialist’s work space
Your placenta encapsulation specialist will either personally pick-up or use a courier service to collect your placenta from the hospital or birth center, and have it brought to their work space. Their work space can be a family kitchen, a dedicated encapsulation processing space in their home, or a dedicated space in another location, like a studio or a commercial-style kitchen. Once your placenta capsules are ready, your specialist will most likely bring the pills to you, at home.
2 | Client’s home
After having your baby, you, a family member, or a friend will bring the placenta to your home. Your placenta encapsulation specialist will then come to your house to process your placenta. The capsules will be left with you, or arrangements may be made to take them to your birthplace if you are not home yet. When encapsulation is performed in your home, you or family may choose to observe the process, and have a discussion about the preparation method, and get answers to questions regarding the placenta, you birth experience, or the postpartum healing process.
Consider hiring a professional that offers complimentary services
In addition to placenta capsules, look for a placenta encapsulation specialist that offers other placenta specialties, like
placenta art prints, tincture, or mother’s broth. You may also want to find a placenta encapsulation specialist that provides additional prenatal and postnatal services to the community, like childbirth education classes, or birth and postpartum doula support.
Hire a well-respected, highly reviewed, and experienced specialist
Using a placenta encapsulation specialist recommended by a trusted friend is a great option. But make sure to do your own research on any prospective encapsulator. Look through their website, check their social media accounts, and read or ask for testimonials. Schedule a call or meet with the placenta encapsulation specialist you are interested in hiring. Get an idea of who they are, how and why they chose to become a professional placenta encapsulator, and ask them how many placentas they have encapsulated. It is best to find a professional that has overwhelmingly positive reviews and testimonials from previous clients.
Have your questions answered before booking services
Your placenta encapsulation specialist should return your email, message, or call promptly and provide you with an overview of their services, fees, policies, and protocols. You should also see if your prospective specialist has a comprehensive Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) page on their website. You want to feel confident about your specialist and her services before paying a deposit.
Placenta encapsulation is a great option for new mothers looking for a more natural approach to the postpartum recovery process. It is important to find a truly professional placenta encapsulation specialist if you are wanting this service.
This article was originally published on TheNurturingRootOhio.com
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