What is the Placenta?
The placenta is an organ that develops alongside your baby. After the birth of your baby, the placenta will be birthed. This typically happens around 15-30 minutes after the baby’s birth. What you choose to do with your placenta and how you honor this special organ is up to you.
Almost all mammals consume the placenta after the birth of their young. With humans being a mammal, there are some who prepare the placenta with herbs, dehydrate it and consume it, usually powdered and encapsulated. This practice is known as placentophagy. It is believed to be a way to revitalize and reconsume nutrients that would otherwise be lost during the birthing process. Advocates for placentophagy believe that consuming dried placenta improves postpartum moods, increases milk supply for breastfeeding mothers, and decreases postpartum bleeding and postpartum recovery time. Research is currently being performed and this process studied scientifically to verify the anecdotal evidence that exists about the benefits of placenta preparation. Prepared by yourself, or by a placenta preparation specialist, this is a growing practice among new mothers to help prevent the symptoms of postpartum depression and improve the postpartum experience.
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What are the benefits of taking Placenta Capsules?
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Reduce postpartum bleeding*
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Speed up healing*
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Boost energy*
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Improve lactation supply and quality for nursling*
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Balance mood and decrease baby blues*
Placenta Preparation is most beneficial when done within 48-72 hours of birth. With our pickup and delivery service, our placenta preparation specialists complete the preparation process within 24 hours – meaning that you have more time to care for yourself and your new baby while your capsules are being prepared in our personal workspace with minimal inconvenience to you. Having prepared placentas primarily in our own workspace since 2013, we have a reputation for service that is both quick and of a superior quality. While your placenta is in our care, we pledge to respect and “Honor Your Placenta.”™ Preparing your placenta in our own workspace allows us to work at a time of the day most convenient for us and with minimal interruption to you. In-Home Service is available with a $50 surcharge. If you prefer that we prepare the placenta in your home, it will require a minimum of two 90-minute visits to your home and complete access to your kitchen. The dehydrator will need to be undisturbed in a corner of your kitchen for 10-12 hours between our visits.
Whichever location you choose, when you choose us to "Honor Your Placenta,”™ you can be assured that we take pride in our hygiene standards and prepare each placenta in a workspace sanitized according to the standards put forth by OSHA's Bloodborne Pathogen protocols.
“It has been shown that the feeding of desiccated placenta to women during the first eleven days after parturition causes an increase in the protein and lactose percent of the milk... It is evident that the recovery from the postnatal decline in weight is hastened by the consumption of milk produced under the influence of maternally ingested placenta."
McNeile, Lyle G. 1918. The American journal of obstetrics and
diseases of women and children, 77. W.A. Townsend & Adams,
original press: University of Michigan.
Frequently Asked Questions about the Process
Q: Where do you prepare my placenta?
A: Where would you like your placenta prepared? Placenta preparation is most beneficial when done within 48-72 hours of birth. This is also a time when mother and baby are best left undisturbed. With our pickup and delivery service, your specialist can complete the preparation process in her own workspace and have your capsules back to you within 24 to 48 hours with minimal inconvenience to you. Having prepared placentas primarily in our own workspace since 2013, we have a reputation for service that is both quick and of superior quality. Preparing your placenta in our own workspace allows us to work at a time of the day most convenient for us and with minimal interruption to you. It also allows us to monitor the process very closely and not have the dehydrator out of our direct control while your placenta is being prepared into capsules.
In-Home Service is available with a $50 surcharge. If you prefer that we prepare the placenta in your home, it will require a minimum of two 90-minute visits to your home and complete access to your kitchen. The dehydrator will need to be undisturbed in a corner of your kitchen for about 12-24 hours between our visits.
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Q: When will I get my placenta from the hospital?
A: Each hospital has their own protocol for the release. These are subject to change anytime and must be discussed with your primary care provider or the Placenta Specialists at Honor Your Placenta.
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Q: What qualifications do you have to prepare my placenta?
A: There are no laws regarding the preparation of placenta capsules. Once the placenta becomes your property, you are able to have it prepared as capsules by whomever you choose. Our specialists are certified midwives and certified placenta preparation specialists. We have OSHA Bloodborne Pathogen annual training and recertification and Food Safety Training. You can be assured that we sanitize our workspaces according to the protocols set forth by OSHA and we prepare your capsules with your safety and health as our primary concern. We are mothers and midwives and have a reputation that you can trust.
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Q: How do you prepare my placenta?
A: We can prepare capsules, tinctures, salves, chocolates, and frozen smoothie pieces. You may select as many options as you would like.
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Q: How do you "prepare" the placenta?
A: The basic steps to preparing placenta capsules include: cutting, steaming, powdering, encapsulating.
There are two main preparation techniques: raw, or Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM).
1) The raw method uses no herbs, and only your placenta in the process.
2) With TCM method, the contents of your capsules are still only your placenta, but in the TCM approach the placenta is first infused with herbs during the steaming process. This process includes the addition of warming herbs to the water over which the placenta is steamed. According to the TCM approach of placentophagy, the addition of the these herbs infuses the placenta with nutritive properties that add heat to the placenta and allow the body to be warmed from the inside out through the consumption of the herbally-infused placenta capsules.
You may choose either method. If you do not know which method to choose, we will prepare according to the TCM method.
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Q: How many placenta capsules will I get?
A: The amount of capsules you get will depend on the size of your placenta. The size of your placenta depends on the size of your baby. An average baby weighs about 7 lbs. and yields 80-120 capsules. We have seen a tiny placenta yield only 60 capsules; a large placenta yield over 250. There is no way to know in advance how many you will get.
Q: Do we need to meet to set up service?
A: No. All of our documents are available online via email and text.