Placenta Encapsulation

(Note: You do NOT need to be a Heritage Births client in order to take advantage of this service! Whether you are having a hospital birth or a home birth, we are happy to encapsulate your placenta for you!)

Cost: $250

Placentophagy (the act of eating a placenta), while relatively new to the United States, has been a part of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) since the 1500s where placentas are regularly used in their medicines for treatment of many reproductive problems or disorders.  

Humans are the only mammals who do not regularly ingest their placentas after giving birth, and while some may think that it sounds unorthodox, it is not any more so than when humans first started drinking the milk of other animals and eating their bodies for sustenance.  Plus, you get the added benefit of knowing that your placenta is safe and healthy since you were the one who created it! Since our bodies were not made to be able to digest raw meat as our fellow mammals do, and since we have a higher intelligence that makes the thought of doing so unappealing, here is where encapsulation comes into the picture. This process allows us to safely ingest our placentas, while having it be in a more palatable form.

Benefits of Placenta Encapsulation:

  • Maintains or boosts milk production

  • Helps to balance hormone levels and reduce feelings of sadness or depression

  • Reduces postpartum bleeding

  • Helps the uterus quickly return to pre-pregnancy size

  • Increases iron levels

  • Increases libido and energy

  • Decreases or halts hair loss

  • Helps you get back to feeling like yourself again!

While there have been no large human studies performed, animal studies have shown the benefits of ingesting placentas, and there are many women who claim it has helped them greatly as well.  Alexandra has personally encapsulated over 500 placentas since she started offering this service in 2011, and has personally seen the above mentioned benefits in her clients.

Process of Placenta Encapsulation:

Alexandra uses a pure "raw" dehydration method, where there are no additional herbs, spices or supplements added. This way it is only your placenta that you will be ingesting, and nothing else that could potentially harm you or cause an allergic reaction. Your placenta will be dehydrated at a low temperature over the course of 12-24 hours, then ground into a fine powder, and placed into vegetarian capsules. The pills are returned to you within 24-48 hours in a nice amber glass jar (so no one has to know what they are unless you tell them). She also includes a placenta print (see above picture) for free with the price of the encapsulation for those who would like one, so be sure to let her know if you would like this.

What do YOU need to do?

If you would like to sign up to have your placenta encapsulated, please contact Alexandra BEFORE you are due. She will need your full name, phone number, due date, and where you will be birthing, in order to get you on her list. When you go into labor, please text her to give her a heads up, then once you’ve had your baby, text or call again so that she can coordinate coming to pick up your placenta from you (during normal daytime hours). Please see the below instructions for what you will need to do/bring to your birth in order to make sure your placenta stays healthy for you.

  • If you will be birthing with Alexandra, she will take care of everything for you, there is nothing you need to do or provide for her.

  • If you will be birthing with another midwife at your home, you will need to let her know ahead of time that you will be having your placenta encapsulated. After birth, be sure that your placenta is doubled bagged in gallon sized ziploc bags and placed in your refrigerator, or a cooler surrounded with ice, within 1 hour of birth, in order to keep it cold until Alexandra can come to pick it up.

  • If you will be birthing at the hospital, you will need to let your nurse know, when you arrive in labor, that you will be keeping your placenta so that it does not get thrown away. You will also need to bring two gallon sized ziploc bags and a cooler with you to your birth. After birth, be sure that your placenta is doubled bagged in the gallon sized ziploc bags (or if your hospital puts it in a small bucket with a lid that is fine too), then placed in your cooler and surrounded with ice, within 1 hour of birth, in order to keep it cold until Alexandra can come to pick it up from you.

While she is only able to serve the community of Abilene, Texas and surrounding areas with this service, if you do not live in this area, feel free to look around your city for someone who can help you.

Testimonials:

“I knew I wanted a natural birth with a midwife, but I thought encapsulating my placenta was way too “crunchy” and weird.  But then I learned how women believe encapsulation has helped with milk supply and postpartum depression.  These were both things that seriously concerned me.  So I decided to give it a try.  I'm glad I did.  I ended up using them daily for the first couple of months postpartum, and then anytime I felt down or when I was starting my period afterwards.  It's hard to know exactly what would have happened without the placenta pills.  But I definitely noticed bad mood swings on the days I didn't take them.  And when my menstrual cycle restarted, it was lighter and more pain-free than ever before.  The two cycles I forgot to take the pills, though, I experienced intense period cramps and depression while I was on my period.  I'm not looking forward to the pills running out, and I think it was worth it even for the menstrual cycle use alone!” ~Rachel Rickel