Placenta Services

Ann Arbor Doulas is pleased to offer placenta preparation services, tinctures and prints. Placenta consumption may provide various health benefits after childbirth, including increasing your milk supply, helping to balance hormone levels, and replenishing depleted nutrients. To read more about the evidence for placenta preparation, visit Placentabenefits.info

Your Placenta Can Be Processed in One of Two Ways:

  • RAW FOODS METHOD: Your encapsulator dehydrates the placenta then puts it into capsules.
  • TRADITIONAL CHINESE METHOD: Your encapsulator first steams the placenta and then dehydrates the placenta and puts it into capsules.

Placenta Prints and Tinctures:

  • PRINTS: Printed on water color paper, the placenta print makes for a beautiful keepsake to remember where your baby grew. The placenta is referred to as the tree of life, which you can normally see clearly with the prints!
  • TINCTURE: Your encapsulator takes a small piece of the placenta and distills it in a small jar of vodka to release any properties. This normally takes 6 weeks and can be used after the waiting period.

Investment:

Raw Foods Method Encapsulation: $300

Traditional Chinese Method Encapsulation: $350

Print: $25 (if added to encapsulation), $150 (without encapsulation)

Tincture: $75 (if added to encapsulation), $175 (without encapsulation)

Book your Placenta Services

How to prepare for your placenta encapsulation:

1. If you are planning a hospital birth, make sure your care team knows that you want to keep your placenta ahead of time.

It is important to know your hospital's policy regarding releasing placentas. You may have to sign a release from the hospital or have additional blood work done towards the end of your pregnancy. Bring this up with your care provider at a prenatal visit.

2. Keep your placenta cool until processing.

Some hospitals require you to bring your own cooler to store it in. Make sure the placenta is placed in a clean container within the cooler.

3. Make your plan clear to the staff.

Again, it is always a good idea to remind the staff a few times before baby is born that you plan on keeping it. Sometimes that detail gets forgotten in the rush of your baby's arrival!

4. Once baby is here, please let your encapsulator know right away.

Please keep your placenta fresh on ice until it is picked up for processing. If you contact us after 10:00 pm, typically we will come the next morning to get it.

“Whenever and however you intend to give birth, your experience will impact your emotions, your mind, your body and your spirit for the rest of your life.”

– Ina May Gaskin