Is Placenta Encapsulation Worth It?

What is Placenta Encapsulation?

To understand what placenta encapsulation is, let us first look at the placenta. The placenta is an amazing temporary organ that forms in the uterus during pregnancy, providing nutrients for and preventing toxins from your baby as he/she lives and grows in the womb. Not only can this organ support the baby, it can even support mom postpartum. Humans are the only mammals that don’t naturally eat their placenta after birth. Many argue it is to hide it from predators that they have given birth, but other studies say that it helps with nurturing, providing milk for their young, and healing from the birth. Placentaophgy is the practice of eating the placenta after giving birth, and has been a practice from many different cultures; including the Egyptians, the Navajo, ancient China, and the indigenous Māori tribe in New Zealand ( Howland, pg. 315).

For many moms, the idea of eating their placenta sounds gross, but if you are interested, there are even recipes of how to include the placenta in your diet (4 Ways to Eat Your Placenta). Many prefer to encapsulate their placenta instead or having it as a placenta tincture. Placenta encapsulation is the process of dehydrating your placenta to be taken as a capsule. The term “Placenta Encapsulation” was coined by Jodi Selander, who developed the method in 2006.

Here is the process of placenta encapsulation:

  1. Placenta is bagged and then refrigerated (needs to be refrigerated within two hours of birth)
  2. then it’s rinsed to drain all the blood in a sanitized work space
  3. Then it is steamed lightly atop a stove
  4. Then sliced thinly and dried for about 18 hours in a dehydrator
  5. After it’s been dried, it is process in a grinder and loaded into capsules
  6. Then it is delivered to you to help you in your postpartum journey

What are the Benefits?

Consuming your placenta can have many benefits; such as:

  • Providing a Hormonal (and Emotional) Boost
    • pregnant and postpartum moms can have low levels of progesterone and estrogen, and it can take months to years to help raise these hormones. The highs and lows of these hormones can increase sluggishness, tiredness, anxiety, depression, feeling emotional, and exhausted after birth. The placenta is full of these amazing hormones, including estrogen and progesterone, and even oxytocin.
  • Increasing Your Milk Supply
    • the placenta contains a hormone called prolactin, that triggers breast milk production.
  • Providing a Nutrient Boost
    • Your placenta also contains vitamins (like vitamin B6 and B12) , minerals (like iron), and amino acids and essential fats.
  • Providing a Healing Boost
    • The cord and placenta is filled with biological building blocks that can help speed up healing of the uterus after birth, and can help decrease postpartum bleeding.

Now, there are few to no studies to prove that placenta encapsulation would provide these benefits, but many mothers testify of it’s effectiveness for them in helping them with their postpartum depression and recovery. For many other mothers it wasn’t as effective. Here is a study of the consumption of the placenta from humans to nonhuman mammals, NCBI – WWW Error Blocked Diagnostic .

Are There Any Risks?

The only risk is when it is not handled professionally, it is best to have it prepared in a sanitary environment. In order to prevent contamination by bacteria and viruses, make sure it is handled and stored properly. So far, there is no evidence that consuming the placenta is bad or a risk to you. Just make sure that it is properly taken care of by someone who professionally does it. If you have questions or concerns, talk about it with your care provider who someone who professionally encapsulates placentas.

Things to Think About If You Plan to Encapsulate Your Placenta

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Resources/References

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