Placenta Encapsulation

 The following post contains images some might consider graphic.

In the wild and in some countries, the placenta is not tossed out along with other biohazardous waste.  The mother eats it.  There are a variety of reasons for this:

• decreasing the chance of the baby blues
• helping the milk "come in"
• increasing energy
• decreasing sleep disorders
• stopping hemorrage and decreasing lochia (wish I had known that one before!)
• according to some researchers, ingesting the placenta may serve as nature's Rhogam, it may supress the development of antibodies should a mother with a negative blood type give birth to a baby with a positive blood type

Because of the amazing job it does nourishing the baby during pregnancy and the benefits it has for the mother after the birth, the placenta is considered in some countries to be like the baby's second mother or even the twin.  Among the cultures that do not eat the placenta, they have very special ways of laying it to rest. 

Unless it were an emergency situation, I might have a difficult time swallowing a chunk of raw placenta.  Also, since I'm not a big meat-eater anyways, I thought encapsulation would be best.  Furthermore, I am already out of the immediate postpartum period where daily consumption of the placenta would have done the most good.  Encapsulated dehydrated placenta will keep indefinitely in the fridge.  I wish to use my placenta for postpartum hormonal support since I know I am out of balance.  It's free and 100% safe for the lactating mother.

The father can also have some, if he needs a pick-me-up.  The postpartum period is hard on everybody.

There are many ways to prepare the placenta for encapsulation.  This is just how I did it.  Be careful!  The placenta is irreplaceable.  Prepare it using food safety measures you would use for any other meat.

Refrigerate placenta in an air-tight, food-safe container and begin preocess within 48 hours.  Or double-bag the placenta with freezer bags for use up to 6 months after the birth.  If it is frozen it will need to be thawed. 

 My amazing midwives had the foresight to double-bag the placenta for me after the birth.  When I decided to encapsulate it, I looked into the freezer to check if it had been stored properly to prepare since we had talked about just burying it.  Thanks, guys! 

Rinse well in cold water.  Be prepared for a good bit of blood, but try to look at past that.

 I thought my boyfriend would enjoy preparing the placenta for encapsulation.  I didn't think he would be bothered since he's a chef, but he was making funny faces.  I told him, "Respect the placenta!"

We used lemon and ginger to steam it.

Since we eat so much Japanese food, ginger is a staple at our house.  After making Arroz Doce this weekend I had a lemon sans peel.  It was great to make use of it.  Our family motto is "Waste not, want not."

Cover and steam the placenta baby side (smooth side) up first.  Poke it to bleed it.  It's done when it doesn't bleed anymore.

At the 10 o'clock position you can see a bit of the umbilical cord, or what I affectionately refer to as "umby."  As per Japanese tradition, one of our midwives cut off a good bit to save.  I've seen other moms shape the umby into a heart and dehydrate it along with the placenta to save.  I wish I would have done that.  It makes it such a cute keepsake!

Slice and then slice the longer pieces in half so that the pieces are uniform in size and cook more evenly.  I believe I cut mine too thick.  It would have been best had I cut the strips to be between 2-3 milimeters in thickness.  I dehydrated mine in the oven at the lowest setting (170 degrees) for 7 hours.  It smelled a little strong in the oven.  I've seen a lady who put the raw placenta in a blender and spread it out to dry on the countertop and reported no odor.  I will do that next time!

Steamed slices.

Dehydrated pieces.

Next, grind the pieces.  I hear a food processor works best but I don't have one.  I used a coffee grinder that I bought specifically for this project but it takes a long time.  I believe my pieces are very thick so I'm taking my time in the hopes that I will not break my blender.  I would really like to buy a Suribachi, a Japanese mortar and pestle or perhaps I will buy a regular one at the store for this project.

Follow the instructions on your encapsulating machine to fill the capsules with the powder.  You can add herbs if you like, such as Fenugreek which promotes healthy lactation or St. John's Wort for emotional support.  I don't see the point because the placenta itself does that.

I tried to purchase a capsule filler locally, but no pharmacy or medical supply store had one for sale.  One pharmacist told me that doctors often get them from drug companies so if I had a good rapport with my doctor I could get one for free.  Thank goodness I don't actually have need for a doctor!  Plus, I wouldn't want to bring something into my house with all the bad karma of a drug company.  My friend lent me hers.

Store the final product in your fridge.  They will keep indefinitely.



Each placenta yields approximately 200-250 "00" size capsules. The process is very tedious for me since I am having some trouble grinding the dehyrated chunks.