Preparing placenta medicine involves rinsing, laminating and dehydrating the placenta at low temperatures, grinding the dry laminates to a fine powder, which is filled into soft capsules, or used to brew tinctures. Regardless of whether the mother decides to consume the placenta for her own benefit or to give it to the earth to nourish her, the main idea here is that the placenta, as a precious organic product, has functions and uses beyond birth.

It has been reported that consuming the placenta has a wide variety of benefits and helps to:

  • Restoring energy after birth

  • Providing iron, minerals and vitamins

  • Balancing hormone levels

  • Increase of milk production

  • Reduction of postpartum bleeding

  • Return the uterus to its original size

Choice of preparations:

The placenta can be used and prepared in various ways. Here is a list of the preparation that I can offer:

  • Smoothie: Preparation of raw shaker shots. Blended with fruits of choice. Recommended for the first days of as a postpartum treatment.

  • Placenta tinctures: based on the same principles of homeopathy and Bach flowers.

  • Placenta Capsules: Its uses are focused as a galactogogue (milk production inducing), anti-hemorrhagic effects, uterine involution, nutritional contribution, physiological satiety, restoring energy, improving mood, lactation comfort, maternal well-being, maternal bond, among others.

  • Placenta Oil: Cosmetics for external use, reduces blemishes and scars.

  • Placental Chocolates: Chocolate bonbon, cocoa and placenta. Energizing, exquisite and nutritious.

  • Placenta Impressions: This is a unique and meaningful organic art form. Unlike a photograph in which the record has no material connection to the original object, this print will always indicate that the original object was physically placed on that paper: the placenta will leave part of its essence on it. This print is done on durable watercolor art paper.

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Placenta Encapsulation- $350 (impression included)

Tincture - $30

Salve - $20

Oil -$20

Chocolates $30

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About Placenta 

The placenta had been honored throughout history in many different ancestral cultures around the earth, and now days there are few studies, that proves the benefits of consuming the placenta, in addition to being more socially accepted. The beneffits of the placenta after birth are from the simplest to the most mystical during all the process of life.

Is placenta encapsulation safe? 

Well, that depends on who is doing the processing and what type of standards they have. I follow all OSHA (Occupational Safety & Health Administration) guidelines, as well as all food handler guidelines. I'm both Blood Borne Pathogen Certified as well as ServSafe Certified. I also work in a dedicated placenta work space and with equipment that is used ONLY for placenta processing. Below are some key points.

SAFETY FIRST

  • Dedicated work space for placentas only

  • Placentas are kept refrigerated until processing can begin

  • I work on only one placenta at a time so that there is no chance of a mix-up

  • Dehydration takes place in only a high quality dehydrator with a temperature gauge, never an oven

  • OSHA, BBP protocol and ServSafe guidelines are strictly adhered to for your protection and mine

  • All surfaces are washed and sanitized in bleach solution prior to use

  • All personal protective equipment (disposable gloves, aprons, etc.) are used EVERY time

  • All surfaces and equipment are washed, sanitized or disposed of between each use

  • As many disposable items are used as possible (apron, gloves, bowls, knifes, etc)

  • All reusable equipment are sanitized in a bleach solution for at least 10 minutes per OSHA guidelines

Some of the benefits when taking encapsulated placenta are:

Enhance Milk Supply

“The afterbirth was taken to increase the secretion of milk, which in all the women had failed without obvious cause after previous confinements. The treatment is said to have been successful after other methods of stimulating the milk secretion had failed. Madame Louise Toussaint, a French midwife, quoted by Cabanes in his Remedes d’autrefois (Paris, 1905), speaking of women in labour, says, “ Notwithstanding the disgusted protests which will come to the lips of many of you, O accoucheurs and midwives in reading me, give them, believe me, some fragments of their own placenta and you will tell me what happens. You will see how much you will in this way promote rapid recovery and with what abundance and rapidity the milk with come on. Do not forget that even in non-pregnant women and in virgins the milk secretion may be made to appear by simple placental feeding”. Cabanes tells us that at the fourth French Congress of Internal Medicine, held at Montpellier in April 1898, Dr. Iscovesco presented a communication on the therapeutic action of the placenta illustrated by more than a hundred cases of placenta tablets having a favourable effect on the secretion of milk..” The British Medical Journal, Vol. 1 No. 2928, February 10, 1917 page 203

 Placenta for Pain Relief 

Placenta ingestion by rats enhances y- and n-opioid antinociception, but suppresses A-opioid antinociception
Jean M. DiPirro*, Mark B. Kristal
Ingestion of placenta or amniotic fluid produces a dramatic enhancement of centrally mediated opioid antinociception in the rat. The present experiments investigated the role of each opioid receptor type (A, y, n) in the antinociception-modulating effects of Placental Opioid-Enhancing Factor (POEF—presumably the active substance). Antinociception was measured on a 52 jC hotplate in adult, female rats after they ingested placenta or control substance (1.0 g) and after they received an intracerebroventricular injection of a y-specific ([D-Pen2,D-Pen5]enkephalin (DPDPE); 0, 30, 50, 62, or 70 nmol), A-specific ([D-Ala2,N-MePhe4,Gly5-ol]enkephalin (DAMGO); 0, 0.21, 0.29, or 0.39 nmol), or n-specific (U-62066; spiradoline; 0, 100, 150, or 200 nmol) opioid receptor agonist. The results showed that ingestion of placenta potentiated y- and n-opioid antinociception, but attenuated A-opioid antinociception. This finding of POEF action as both opioid receptor-specific and complex provides an important basis for understanding the intrinsic pain-suppression mechanisms that are activated during parturition and modified by placentophagia, and important information for the possible use of POEF as an adjunct to opioids in pain management.
 D 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Avoid Postpartum Depression

According to a study performed by the National Institutes of Health, “During the last trimester of pregnancy, the placenta secretes so much CRH that the levels in the bloodstream increase threefold. However, it was also discovered that postpartum women have lower than average levels of CRH, triggering depressive symptoms. They concluded that the placenta secreted so much CRH that the hypothalamus stopped producing it… After childbirth, the hypothalamus doesn’t immediately receive the signal to begin producing CRH again, which can lead to postpartum depression. Eating the placenta will raise a mother’s CRH levels therefore, reducing postpartum depression.”

Avoid Iron Deficiency

A 1961 study on the Iron Content of Placentas and Cords by Bonnie McCoy, M.S, Roberta Bleiler, Ph.D, and Margaret Ohlson Ph.D states, “”Data obtained on the fifty placentas and cords were expressed as milligrams of total iron and milligrams per 100 grams of the wet weight of the sample. The total iron content of the samples averaged 75.5mg and ranged from 34.5 to 170mg, excluding one value, 396.7mg which was 6 standard deviations from the mean. The latter total iron value was also omitted in the calculation of the iron concentrations in placentas plus cords which ranged from 7.1 to 34.8mg with a mean of 13.6mg per 100gm of the wet weight of the sample. The weights of the placentas and cords averaged 560gm but varied from 385 to 880 gm.” American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Vol. 9, September-October 1961

The placenta transports nutrients to the fetus during gestation, as well as producing and regulating hormones and opioids. Ingesting the placenta has numerous benefits and can be done in different ways. Encapsulation (a technique of processing the placenta, grinding it into a powder and putting it in capsules) enables you to enjoy those benefits completely and easily. Each placenta's hormonal and mineral make up is completely unique to the mother and no supplement or vitamin can compare to the unique value that this provides the mother in her recovery from childbirth, and the child via the breast milk.

Studies show that placenta is extremely nutrient rich, high in iron, protein, vitamins and minerals, including vitamin B6 and of course, your own natural hormones, making it perfectly made for you, by you. Experts agree that the placenta retains hormones, and thus reintroducing them to your system may ease hormonal fluctuations. 
Traditional Chinese Medicine has used placenta to augment the Chi (energy), nourish the blood, and augment the kidney essence. In layman’s terms, it brings the body back into balance, replenishing what was lost during childbirth. In many cultures the placenta is considered the tree of life, and indeed, without it life would not be possible. Hormones present in the placenta

Placenta’s Ingredients for Healing

~Prolactin: Promotes lactation; increases milk supply; enhances the mothering instinct.
~Oxytocin: Decreases pain and increases bonding in mother and infant; counteracts the production of stress hormones such as Cortisol; greatly reduces postpartum bleeding; enhances the breastfeeding let-down reflex.
~Placental Opioid-Enhancing Factor (POEF): Stimulates the production of your body’s natural opioids, including endorphins; reduces pain; increases well-being.
~Prostaglandins: Regulates contractions in the uterus after birth; helps uterus return to its pre-pregnancy size.
~Estrogen, Progesterone, Testosterone: Contributes to mammary gland development in preparation for lactation; stabilizes postpartum mood; regulates post-birth uterine cramping.
~Thyroid Stimulating Hormone: Regulates the thyroid gland; boosts energy.
~Corticotropin Releasing Hormone (CRH): Regulation of CRH helps prevent depression.
~Cortisone: Reduces inflammation and swelling; promotes healing.
~Interferon: Triggers the protective defenses of the immune system to fight infection.
~Hemoglobin: Oxygen-carrying molecule which provides a boost in energy.
Urokinase Inhibiting Factor and Factor XIII: stops bleeding and enhances wound healing.
~Iron: Replenishes maternal iron stores to combat anemia. Increases energy; decreases fatigue and depression.
~Immunoglobulin G (IgG): Antibody molecules which support the immune system.
Human Placental Lactogen (hPL): This hormone has lactogenic and growth-promoting properties; promotes mammary gland growth in preparation for lactation in the mother. It also regulates maternal glucose, protein, and fat levels.

Circumstances that WOULD be a contradiction to encapsulating your placenta: 
– Infection present in mom or baby at the time of birth
– Chorioamnionitis
Circumstances that DO NOT prevent you from encapsulating:
– Meconium
– Group B Strep positive
– Medicated Birth
– Cesarean Birth

Please note that I am also a birth doula. In the event that I am called to a birth there may be a delay of 24 hours or more in preparing your placenta.

I will provide a written explanation of the proper storing and handling of the finished placenta capsules and guidelines for daily ingestion. 

“There is power that comes to women when they give birth. They don’t ask for it, it simply invades them. Accumulates like clouds on the horizon and passes through, carrying the child with it.” — Sheryl Feldman