Village Birth Co-op

Why encapsulate your placenta? 

70-80% of  women who give birth experience postpartum blues. The ‘baby blues’ is characterized by mild and transient mood disturbances with an onset of 1-7 days postpartum with a peak between days 5-6. Symptoms include low mood, anxiety, crying, irritability, insomnia, and mood lability. Because of its commonality, it is viewed as a ‘normal’ phenomenon. Only when “baby blues” worsens to postpartum depression or psychosis in some cases is anything done. The normal treatment is anti-depressants and anti-anxiety medications. Psychotropic drugs, like almost all drugs, are passed to the baby through breastmilk, and mothers who don’t want to expose their babies to these medications are often faced with the decision to either stop breastfeeding or struggle with depression.  Women suffer through the baby blues almost as a rite of passage to motherhood – but it doesn’t have to be this way. 

 

Encapsulation & Benefits 

Placenta encapsulation is the process of preparing the mother’s placenta after the birth of her baby(ies) through steaming (depending on method), dehydrating, grinding, and then encapsulating it (in vegetarian capsules). We do both the Chinese Method and the Raw Method. The ingestion of the placenta is known as “placentophagy.” The purpose of placentophagy by the mother is to reintroduce the beneficial vitamins, minerals, hormones, proteins, and other nutrients to her body following labor and birth to help restore a more balanced body function, prevent “baby blues” and the more serious postpartum depression, increase breast-milk production, shorten healing time, increase maternal energy levels, and provide an over-all feeling of wellness to aid in the transition between pregnancy and the early postpartum period in the woman who has just given birth.

 

Tincture & Salve

This form of placenta medicine is not as well known as the encapsulated method. A small piece of the placenta is tinctured in organic vodka. This basic tincture can be used directly by the mother during times of transition, illness or stress after she has used all of her placenta capsules. From PMS, depression, or menopause, many women swear by it. The tincture can also be diluted in a bit of water and given to the child when he or she is getting sick or in a time of transition. We don't know why it works but it seems to bring the child back to a state of physical and emotional balance. What a wonderful gift to be able to give to your child that can last their whole life! 

 

A salve or balm made of your placenta powder and a variety of healing herbs and oils offers healing properties to c-section scars once they are healed, hemorrhoids, perineal tearing, cracked or blistered nipples, eczema, sun burn, diaper rash (can be made cloth diaper safe!), skin irritation and more. You have the option to your base oil (shea, cocoa butter, mango butter or beeswax) and a variety of essential oils (lavender, sweet orange, tangerine, vanilla, or chamomile). 

 

Think of the salve as a super healing, natural triple antibiotic ointment! 

 

When is it done? 

Ideally, the placenta is encapsulated within 48-72 hours after the birth.  While you bond with your new baby, we

will come to you and take care of your placenta in your own home. During the first visit, we spend about 2 hours

preparing the placenta for the drying phase.  The placenta is left finish drying overnight.  The next day, we returns

to complete the encapsulation step, which takes about 1-1.5 hours.  You can begin taking the capsules right away

for maximum postpartum benefits.

 

Are you ready to encapsulate?

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