Placenta Encapsulation Process

Lately I’ve been getting more questions about the encapsulation process, and how it is performed in your home. Here is a step-by-step explanation of the process, from hiring me to taking your first capsules!

Since the encapsulation process is performed in your home after delivery, you (with the help of your support team) are responsible for transporting the placenta to your home. After delivery, it should be placed in a cooler with ice, and transferred to your refrigerator as soon as possible. Once you know your expected discharge time, contact me to schedule the encapsulation process. I bring all the tools and supplies I need, so you can relax and enjoy your new baby.

Upon arrival to your home, I will start by clearing a workspace comprised of the sink, some counter space, and the stove top (if choosing the steamed method) in your kitchen. The area is cleaned and disinfected before I set up my supplies. Finally, the placenta is brought out from the fridge, and the fun begins!

  • Your placenta is rinsed and examined for any abnormalities.

  • If placenta prints are desired, the amniotic membranes are removed, coloring applied, and prints taken. The umbilical cord is removed and shaped to later become a cord keepsake.

  • The placenta is thinly sliced and placed into the dehydrator. If choosing the steamed method, the placenta is gently steamed before slicing.

  • The dehydrator is plugged up in a safe location, away from children or pets, and left to dry overnight.

  • Any reusable equipment is thoroughly washed with antibacterial soap, and prepared for a disinfecting bleach bath.

  • The kitchen workspace is cleaned and disinfected again, so no traces of placenta remain.

The next day, at our predetermined time, I will arrive to your home with the supplies needed to complete the encapsulation process. The workspace in your kitchen is cleared, cleaned, and disinfected again before I set up my supplies.

  • The dry strips of placenta are removed from the dehydrator, and ground into a fine powder.

  • The capsule machine is filled with empty capsules, which are then filled with your placenta powder.

  • Completed capsules are checked to ensure a tight seal, and placed into a jar.

  • Placenta tinctures, salve, chocolates, or truffles are made from the same powder placed into your capsules.

  • Any reusable equipment is thoroughly washed with antibacterial soap, and prepared for a disinfecting bleach bath.

  • The kitchen workspace is cleaned and disinfected again, so no traces of placenta remain.

  • The finished products are packaged, and presented to you with verbal and written instructions for their use.

Placenta Donation

Your placenta is such an incredible organ! Your body begins creating this organ in the early weeks of pregnancy, and is fully functional at 12 weeks. The placenta is your baby’s connection to your blood supply, allowing for the exchange of nutrients and waste materials, The placenta is not a filter, as it does not retain the waste materials, rather shunts them into your body for excretion. We now know that the placenta also produces hormones such as oxytocin, progesterone, estrogen, and relaxin.

With all of this in mind, many people do not want their placenta (their baby’s lifeline) simply disposed of as medical waste. Some choose to consume it to replace nutrients and hormones lost during delivery, others bury it to fertilize a plant or tree. But what if you don’t want to, or are unable, to do those things? You can donate your placenta!

I have collaborated with South Carolina K9 Search Team to make this an easy process! I was honored to attend a training day with the team. It was absolutely fascinating! I hope these photos can show you a glimpse of my experience. Read on after the photos to learn more about this organization and how placentas are used to train HRD dogs.

What areas does SCK9ST serve?

South Carolina K9 Search Team (SCK9ST) primarily works in South Carolina and Georgia, but will go anywhere we are called by an official agency. We have worked at or been called to everything from a suicide, drowning, or missing person, to a plane crash and Hurricane recovery mission.

How many dogs and trainers are a part of SCK9ST?

SCK9ST currently has 3 K9 handlers and 4 K9s. There are quite a few requirements that must be met by both the handlers and the canines to become a member of the team. We work and train with other search and rescue (SAR) groups and teams whenever possible. All 3 members of SCK9ST (and their canines) are also members of the Georgia Body Recovery Team (GBRT).

How long does it take to train a HRD dog?

Before becoming a K9 handler, one has to become a SARTECH II through the National Association of Search and Rescue. You would also need to take FEMA classes, First Aid, CPR, Navigation, and many more.

Training your K9 partner and learning to “read” your K9 will take a couple of years on average. You and your K9 must be certified by a national organization every 1-2 years and keep detailed records of the hours you train with and without your canine. You must also keep detailed records of every search you go on. These records must be kept for court if you are called as a witness.

How is a donated placenta used?

Donated placenta is a very important tool necessary for training cadaver dogs. Unlike drug or explosive dogs, cadaver dogs have 470+ odors they must master. Placenta has many of these odors combined and is a much need training aid. We use it sparingly and make it last as long as possible.

To donate your placenta, contact me or SCK9ST directly. All that is required of you is a simple release form and to arrange pickup after delivery!

That Time I Was In A Viral Story

In early March, I had a client who wanted to consume her placenta, but could not swallow pills. So, we discussed putting all of her placenta powder into chocolate, rather than just an 'extra' to pills like most of my clients who want chocolates.

After receiving the call that she had given birth, we made plans for me to come to their home and start the process that evening. As usual, I arrived and began cleaning, sanitizing, and setting up. My client and her mother wanted to watch the whole process, so they set up camp at the breakfast bar above my work area. As I began working, my client began taking photos, and let me know she was posting them on her SnapChat. I thought it was a fun idea, and figured it might reach 20 or 30 people.

Little did I know, the snaps were also posted to Facebook, and quickly began being shared. The first time I knew this was going to be a crazy ride was when I saw the post had 8,000 shares. I shared this with fellow placenta professionals, and we celebrated and wondered what this would turn in to. Little did I know, in just a few days, the original post would reach 100,000 shares. I began receiving private messages and comments that weren't so great, and had to lock down my personal page and carefully monitor my business page. I have received some great encouragement and support, but have also learned that people can be incredibly hateful when hidden by a screen.

The content was soon picked up by an agency and was posted on the Daily Mail, the Sun, Metro, and the Mirror! I'm not sure exactly how far this little video reached, as it has been re-posted in other formats, on pages, in groups, on websites, and who knows where else! I could not have imagined this happening, in my mind it was just little ol' me doing my job! I look forward to helping mothers consume their placentas however they desire for years to come.

Placenta Pills Infect Baby!!! Probably Not...

Recently, a CDC report was released blaming placenta encapsulation for late-onset GBS infection in an approximately 16 day old baby. Yes, this is a scary thought, but there are some gaps in the research and processing of this placenta I want to break down.

So, we'll start with the issues in the report. First, GBS is a transient bacteria, which means it can come and go throughout a woman's life. So even though the mother was negative at 37 weeks, she could have been positive at birth. On the other hand, how many women are told they test positive, receive treatment, but are not actually colonized at birth?

Second, the capsules did test positive for the same bacteria baby was infected with. The mother's breastmilk, the most likely way the bacteria would have been transmitted, tested negative for the bacteria. The report also notes, "transmission from other colonized household members could not be ruled out".

Three of my colleagues raised excellent points and worded them much better than I can.

"You are also dealing with a severely immunocompromised infant who has just come off of a very rough course of antibiotics and was ill which makes that baby much more susceptible to any infection from any source." -Shannon Mitchell

"A logical conclusion is the initial infection wasn't eradicated and the secondary infection was basically a relapse. There was no gbs in the breast milk. I think that's an important part of the puzzle when assuming the placenta was the cause for reinfection. That said, the placenta doesn't seem to have been processed properly and probably shouldn't have been encapsulated to begin with given the immediate onset of the initial infection." -Deanna Norris, APPAC

"Late-onset GBS has generally been attributed to the presence of GBS in the infant's environment. Did they culture the doorknobs in the family's home? The client's nipples? How about burp rags or swaddling blankets? If the client had it on their hands, then they could have quite easily transferred it to the capsules when they were taking some out of the jar. To suggest that the capsules were the *source* of the organism seems like *quite* a stretch." -Wendy Gordon, Midwife

Now onto the problems with the processing of the placenta by 'Company A'. First, "the company does not ask about intra- or postpartum infections". This is HUGE! I absolutely ask this of my clients. Encapsulators never want you to consume infected tissue! In my practice, I will not encapsulate your placenta if you have chorioamnionitis, a confirmed GBS infection (not colonization- in that case your placenta would be prepared by steaming before encapsulation), or GBS infection of the newborn.

Also concerning is the fact that "according to Company A’s website, the placenta is cleaned, sliced, and dehydrated at 115°F–160°F". Any temperature below 160° is NOT safe for dehydration. Below 160° would keep the tissue in the 'danger zone' where bacteria grow rapidly, easily doubling in 20 minutes. When a placenta is dehydrating for 12+ hours, this is simply unsafe, unsanitary, and unacceptable. This is taught in any food handling course, so it makes me wonder if this encapsulator does not follow safe food handling standards.

In summary, in my practice and experience, GBS is only a concern when the mother or baby has a confirmed infection, or the placenta is prepared improperly.

 

References:

https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/66/wr/mm6625a4.htm?s_cid=mm6625a4_e

http://placentaassociation.com/group-b-strep-placenta-encapsulation-safety/

https://www.fsis.usda.gov/wps/portal/fsis/topics/food-safety-education/get-answers/food-safety-fact-sheets/safe-food-handling/danger-zone-40-f-140-f/CT_Index