Placenta Encapsulation is the practice of having your placenta dehydrated, ground into a powder, and encapsulated for you to take as a supplement during your postpartum period. Taking these capsules can help balance your hormones, leading to a smoother healing process and transition into motherhood. Benefits may include a decreased risk of postpartum mood disorders, increased milk production, and improved energy levels.
Placenta Encapsulation
Hi, I’m Tracy and I’m the Placenta Encapsulation Specialist! I have encapsulated over 100 placentas in the Orlando area. I feel so lucky to provide this sacred service to my Central Florida community. I believe the placenta is full of magic and it’s such an honor to turn them in to healing medicine for my fellows mamas.
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Print Only
An artistic blood print of your placenta on watercolor paper. Includes pickup of your placenta at your birthing location and delivery of print to your home. Your placenta will be returned to you for disposal*. $125
Print Only with Colors – Includes above but incorporates the use of paints to create a colorful artistic print of your placenta. $150
Encapsulation + Print
Includes the above plus an artistic blood print of your placenta on watercolor paper. $335
Encapsulation Only
Raw method encapsulation plus a free dehydrated keepsake of
your umbilical cord. Includes pickup of your placenta at your birthing location and
delivery of items to your home. $300
Tincture
Available as an add-on to your encapsulation package, includes a 4oz alcohol-based tincture in a glass dropper bottle to extend the benefits of your placenta beyond the capsules. $30
If you’re interested in talking with me more about placenta encapsulation services, please fill out the contact form below and I’ll be in touch!
Frequently Asked Questions
Placenta Encapsulation
What is the placenta?
Your placenta is a temporary organ that develops in your uterus during pregnancy to
support your baby’s development. It attaches to the uterine wall and connects to your baby via their umbilical cord. Your placenta serves as your baby’s lungs, liver, kidneys
and digestive system by delivering oxygen and nutrients while removing waste. How
magical!
Your placenta also produces many different hormones that work together to trigger
necessary changes in your body like increasing total blood volume and metabolism,
stimulating fat storage in early pregnancy, preparing your breasts for lactation, softening
ligaments, and increasing insulin resistance.
After you give birth to your baby, your placenta is then delivered in the third stage of
labor, also known as the ‘afterbirth’. In many cultures the placenta is celebrated with
rituals such as burial under specific trees to connect the child to their roots or form a
protective bond between the child and the earth. In the US, placentas are often
discarded as medical waste or sometimes used for research. The stem cells found
within the placenta have been used for things like regenerative medicine (wound
healing) and in clinical trials for treating conditions such as Alzheimer’s, Multiple
Sclerosis, Spinal Cord Injuries, and Type II Diabetes.
What is encapsulation?
The practice of consuming your placenta is called placentophagy. Some women choose to consume their placenta raw immediately following birth in the form of smoothies or other preparations (more common in birthing center and home births). This can actually
help tremendously with postpartum hemorrhage due to the hormones within the
placenta.For most women who wish to take advantage of the healing powers of their placenta, encapsulation is the preferred way to consume it. This involves dehydrating your
placenta and grinding it into a fine powder which is then placed inside clear empty
capsules.
Why would I want to consume my placenta?
minerals, reported benefits include:
- Stabilizing of your hormone levels following the drop that happens after birth
- Decrease in postpartum mood disorders due to this hormonal balancing
- Increase in milk production
- Increased energy
- Increased release of the hormone oxytocin, which helps the uterus return to
- normal size and encourages bonding with your baby
- Increase in CRH, a stress-reducing hormone
- Decrease in postpartum bleeding
Fun fact, nearly all mammalian animals consume their placenta after birth.
While we can’t presume to know the exact reasons why, it’s reasonable to assume that
they instinctively know it will nourish and replenish them. Yours has already done an
amazing job at supporting your pregnancy – why not take full advantage of its healing
magic for your postpartum healing?
What is the cost?
Encapsulation Only – Raw method encapsulation plus a free dehydrated keepsake of
your umbilical cord. Includes pickup of your placenta at your birthing location and
delivery of items to your home. $300
Encapsulation + Print – Includes the above plus an artistic blood print of your placenta on watercolor paper. $335
Tincture – Available as an add-on to your encapsulation package, includes a 4oz
alcohol-based tincture in a glass dropper bottle to extend the benefits of your placenta
beyond the capsules. $30
Print Only – An artistic blood print of your placenta on watercolor paper. Includes pickup of your placenta at your birthing location and delivery of print to your home. Your
placenta will be returned to you for disposal*. $125
Print Only with Colors – Includes above but incorporates the use of paints to create a colorful artistic print of your placenta. $150
* For an additional fee of $25, I will handle disposal/donation of your placenta for you.
Travel fees of $25-50 will be added for those who live more than 30 minutes from zip
code 32708.
What areas do you serve?
Orlando hospitals and birthing centers-Winnie Palmer, Advent Health Orlando
Winter Park hospitals and birthing centers-
Altamonte hospitals and birthing centers-
Lake Mary hospitals and birthing centers-
Maitland hospitals and birthing centers-
Lake Nona hospitals and birthing centers-
I also pick up from local birth centers like Tree of Life and Heart2Heart, and home births!
What method do you use?
I use only the the raw method for encapsulations. Others sometimes use TCM (Traditional Chinese Method) which involves steaming the placenta first and adding things like ginger, lemon, or pepper. There are benefits to both but I prefer the raw method because it preserves potency and yields a higher number of capsules compared to a placenta that is steamed first. I also prefer not to add anything to what is naturally in the placenta as a way of avoiding potential reactions. In my raw method process, your placenta will be dehydrated at a temperature of 165 degrees for a full 24 hours. This is more than sufficient to kill any bacteria that may be present.
What safety protocols are in place?
To avoid cross-contamination or mix-ups, I only work with one placenta at a time, start to finish. My equipment is fully sanitized after each client and proper PPE such as gloves and mask are worn at all times. In addition to being certified in placenta encapsulation, I also have a certification from APPA in OSHA Bloodborne Pathogens which includes basic
food safety training as well.
Are there any risks?
Any risks associated with placenta encapsulation come from improper processing
protocols and not inherently from the placenta itself. For example, an online search will
likely show you the case of a baby that became sick with GBS infection that was linked to the mother’s placenta capsules. It’s hugely important to know that this mother tested negative for GBS in pregnancy – which means the placenta was infected during processing. This is why it is so important to hire someone who is certified, experienced, and follows strict safety measures.
How do I get my placenta to you?
In the majority of cases, I will pick up your placenta from your birthing location. My pickup hours are 9am-8pm. You’ll take a cooler with you to the hospital and your nurse team will put it in a container and provide you with ice. For daytime births, pickup will usually be within two hours. For overnight births you will keep your placenta in your cooler until I arrive in the morning. We will discuss hospital policies surrounding this during our consult call.
Do I need permission from the hospital to keep my placenta?
Absolutely not! Your placenta belongs to you, and you simply need to communicate to
your birth team that you are keeping it. Occasionally if there are complications, your provider may want to send your placenta to pathology for testing. It’s highly recommended that you insist they take a small sample of the placenta in your room and leave the rest intact. It’s important to know that many of the things they would be testing for are NOT contraindications to encapsulation anyway. If your placenta does go to pathology, it cannot be processed due to risks of cross-contamination and chemicals used in testing..
Are there any reasons I wouldn’t be able to use my placenta?
The ONLY reason to not encapsulate would be an infection that can develop in labor called chorioamnionitis. This is rare and is preventable by limiting the number of cervical exams you have during labor. We will discuss this as part of our reminders closer to
your due date. Conditions like diabetes and preeclampsia have no impact on
encapsulation.
