Please read this information carefully for information on how to keep and store your placenta right after birth, and how to contact me for pickup. PLEASE PRINT THIS FORM, IF THAT WOULD BE HELPFUL FOR YOU.
These four things will make the process go most smoothly for all of us:
- If you are having a hospital birth, contact your hospital in advance to ask if they have any specific policies or timelines for storing or removing your placenta after birth (most in the area require it to leave the hospital prior to you being transferred to the postpartum unit).
- Bring 2 one-gallon size Ziploc bags and a cooler with you to store your placenta in after birth.
- Contact me when you go into labor.
- Contact me within 1 (one) hour after birth.
HOW TO NOTIFY ME
I ask that someone give me a call when you go into labor, to let me know that I will be preparing your placenta soon. This ‘heads up’ call allows me to adjust my calendar so that I can better serve you and provide the quickest turnaround possible. Once your baby is born, I ask that someone call me within 1 (one) hour to arrange for the pickup of your placenta. I will pick up your placenta, and return it in capsule form within 36 to 72 hours, in most cases. Please call me at 702-217-2712.
STORAGE OF YOUR PLACENTA
Your placenta should be double bagged in gallon size Ziploc bags, and kept on ice or refrigerated until I pick it up. If a refrigerator is not available, please put your bagged placenta on ice in a cooler or large container, replacing the ice every 4 hours. It is fine for your placenta to sit at room temperature for up to 4 hours immediately after birth before it is refrigerated. And it is fine in the fridge or on ice for up to 3 days before being prepared. Placentas can be encapsulated after being frozen. But, as with anything you consume, fresh is best.
TAKING YOUR PLACENTA HOME FROM A HOSPITAL
If you are birthing in the hospital, I have a few recommendations that can make taking your placenta home easier and avoid any ‘surprises’:
- I recommend that you let your care provider know you are planning to take your placenta home with you. They can let you know if they, or the hospital, have any concerns about doing so. You can choose to share with your care provider why you want your placenta… or not.
- Most hospitals are used to patients requesting their placentas these days so you should not have any problem. [It is unusual now, but some hospitals or care providers are reluctant to release placentas to be taken home by patients. It is important that you know that it is NOT illegal or in violation of any health department regulations to do so. You DO have the right to take your placenta home, and unfortunately you might have to push back if you meet resistance. Most hospitals require you to sign a tissue release form aka products of conception release form; sign it, it’s easy. If they are worried about you taking home ‘hazardous waste’ you can request their tissue release form/ products of conception release form (which acknowledges you will handle the tissue responsibly), or I can provide you with a generic form you can just bring with you. Some hospitals will release placentas only to families for ‘religious or spiritual’ reasons; you can use this reason if you want to, without having to disclose your religion or spiritual practice.]
- Hospitals will not allow you to keep your placenta in the nourishment room refrigerator or private room mini-fridges. I suggest you bring with you a small cooler to store your placenta in. They have plenty of ice in the hospital – put some ice in the cooler, place your placenta on top, and keep covered. Then have someone take it home, or call me to arrange a time to pick it up from you in the hospital. If you don’t have a cooler, they may store it for you in a special refrigerator somewhere on the L&D unit.
- Please Note: Some hospitals want to take the placenta to the lab or pathology department in case a complication arises, in which case they could examine the placenta. Do what you can to avoid this happening to your placenta. The lab personnel do not know that you plan to consume your placenta, and they may not handle it with diligence to avoid contamination with other microbes in the lab environment. IF YOUR PLACENTA MUST GO TO PATHOLOGY, it is best to request that just a small piece of it is sent and you retain the rest. If your entire placenta goes to pathology, we cannot encapsulate it due to potential cross contamination.
HANDLING & PROCESSING
I follow OSHA regulations for safe handling and disposal of human tissue, and I follow Health Department regulations for the preparation of consumables. Some of my equipment is disposable and is used only to prepare one placenta, then discarded. All reusable equipment is disinfected according to OSHA standards before each use, and I wear gloves and a mask at all times during preparation.
Your placenta is prepared via the Raw method or the Steamed method, depending on your choice and other health factors. Then it is sliced thin, dried, and ground into a powder, which is placed in capsules. Please let me know if you have any questions about any step in the process, I’m happy to explain it in more detail.
USE OF MEDICATIONS DURING LABOR
If you have used medications during your birth, you can still have your placenta encapsulated and take the capsules. However, no one knows how much of a medication remains in the placenta, or how that medication stands up to heat, so therefore how much medication might be in the placenta capsules. I have safely prepared placentas for women who have had pain medications, narcotics, antibiotics, and pitocin during their labors. Keep in mind that any medication you have taken during pregnancy or labor got to your baby in some amount. And if you continue taking the medication after birth, that medication will also be in your breast milk. If you or your baby are being weaned from medications you were taking, your care provider needs to know that you will be consuming your placenta capsules as that medication may also get to you or your baby in small quantities via your capsules. If you have a question about a specific medication, please feel free to ask me about it.
CESAREAN BIRTH
If you have a cesarean birth, it is still safe to encapsulate your placenta.
MECONIUM
If your baby has passed meconium prior to birth, it is still safe to encapsulate your placenta. The meconium is not filled with dangerous bacteria like adult feces. And the membranes which were in contact with the meconium are peeled off and discarded prior to processing.
CONTRAINDICATIONS TO ENCAPSULATION
It is not safe to encapsulate and ingest a placenta when a verified infection (chorioamnionitis) was present during labor. If you have any communicable or blood-borne disease, your placenta should not be released from the hospital. If your entire placenta was sent to pathology, your placenta should not be consumed. If your placenta has sat out longer than 4 hours at room temperature, or more than 4 days in the refrigerator, your placenta should not be consumed. If you smoked heavily or used drugs during your pregnancy, your placenta should not be consumed. If you took certain low weight, high binding molecular weight pharmaceuticals during pregnancy, your placenta should not be consumed. If you have cancer of the placenta (choriocarcinoma), your placenta should not be consumed.
ALTERNATIVES TO ENCAPSULATION
If for whatever reason you are not able to consume your placenta, there are still alternatives to honoring it. A print can be made of it, a keepsake can be made from the cord, or you can choose to have a burial ceremony to honor the placenta.
The information on this handout has not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. The services I offer are not clinical, pharmaceutical, or intended to diagnose or treat any condition, or take the place of medical care. Placenta encapsulation/tincture/remedy is not used to treat severe anemia, inadequate milk supply, postpartum depression or anxiety. Families who choose to utilize the services on this handout take full responsibility for taking encapsulated placenta at their own risk.
