The placenta plays a very important role in your baby’s well-being while in utero. After hearing anecdotal evidence of increased energy, less instances of baby blues, and increased milk supply, many women are choosing to consume the placenta to aide in their postpartum recovery. But does it matter where this process takes place? We say yes! Here are 10 reasons why only work in our clients’ homes.
When you choose to receive placenta encapsulation services from Central Nebraska Doula you can rest assured that you have hired a trained professional who will put your needs first and will process your placenta using the absolute safest practices.
While some placenta encapsulation specialists may choose to process in their own “dedicated space”, which is often their home kitchen, where they are preparing meals for their family each day, Central Nebraska Doula adheres to an in client-home only approach. Our clients are greatly appreciative of this dedication to the highest standards of safety in the industry, as this is by far the most popular service Central Nebraska Doula offers.
10. You know who is completing the process. It’s simple. You deliver your baby and your placenta. It is placed in a cooler with ice then into your refrigerator. Your Postpartum Placenta Specialist meets you at your home when it is convenient for you and completes the entire process. You can be sure that your placenta will not be picked up by someone then passed onto someone else for processing.
9. Speaking of pick up, we do not transport placentas. The placenta is an organ. We are not medical couriers therefore we are not qualified to transport another person’s organ/blood/tissue. We do however, provide each client with a cooler and instructions for how to package the placenta, which many of the local hospitals are happy to assist with, as well as instructions for transport and storage until the process begins.
8. Perhaps the reason our clients appreciate most, you can be sure you are receiving your own placenta! Once the placenta is delivered, labeled, and taken home, it will be the only placenta in your home. You don’t have to worry about it being processed in a location that may contain more than one placenta at a time. We eliminate the chance of a mix up.
7. Clean kitchen. You don’t have to worry about the standards of cleanliness of the someone’s workspace. If it is your own home you can see for yourself! Between you and me, I am a busy working mom, and often my kitchen shows it. I try to keep up with the dishes, but sometimes the dishes pile up for a couple days before I am able to get them in the dishwasher. When I am working in my client’s home it doesn’t matter if I didn’t get the chance to tidy up my own kitchen. Often times when I arrive at a client’s home they have a few dishes in their sink, which I am happy to wash, dry, and put away, while they spend time with their new baby or chatting with me about how they are feeling. Once the dishes are taken care of, I complete the sanitizing of the sink and countertops before the placenta is ever even removed from the refrigerator or freezer. Once I have finished for the day, I repeat the sanitizing process and aim to leave each client’s kitchen cleaner than I found it.
6. Bacteria. Perhaps this is something that hasn’t been given much consideration, but each person’s home has germs. Your body is already used to the bacteria in your home. By completing the process in our clients’ home, the risk of someone getting sick by consuming something that was exposed to unfamiliar bacteria is reduced. After all, the health department requires personal chefs to prepare food in their client’s home (if it is not being prepared in an approved, routinely inspected, commercial kitchen). Shouldn’t we be holding our placenta specialists, who are preparing an organ for consumption to the same standard?
5. You get the opportunity to see your placenta. A vast majority of Central Nebraska Doula clients want to see and learn about their placenta. They want to see the umbilical cord that physically attached them to their baby, and the amniotic sac that housed the baby for 9 months. This is often the only opportunity people have to see this life-sustaining organ. For clients who are interested, we encourage asking questions or even taking pictures throughout the entire process. For those who do not wish to see it, it is certainly not a requirement. We are even able to complete the process while you are not home should you so desire.
4. Transparency. We want our clients to feel reassured about every aspect of the process. From being stored and transported properly, to safety and cleanliness throughout the process, as well as knowing that nothing was added to the placenta and no pills were kept back, we are 100% transparent in our entire process.
3. Postpartum support. What better person to have in your home than someone who is a trained Postpartum and Infant Care Doula? So many times when I am working with a placenta encapsulation client, I receive questions about breast or formula feeding, newborn care, postpartum recovery, as well as postpartum mental health. Sometimes these mothers don’t have anyone else they trust to answer their questions without judgement before they see their doctor next.
2. We are able to begin processing quickly. On average, we process one to three placentas per week. It’s inevitable that we may need to process more than one placenta in a day. Because we are working in our client’s home and have multiple sets of high-quality equipment, we are able to process each client’s placenta according to what works best with their schedule.
1. We adhere to the standards set forth by our training and certifying organization, ProDoula. Because there is no regulation in the placenta encapsulation industry, anyone can call themselves a placenta encapsulator and provide this service. In June 2016, Jenna Frick, became Nebraska’s first CERTIFIED Postpartum Placenta Specialist. The rigorous certification process included a comprehensive exam, reading multiple books and articles and writing essays summarizing what I learned from the readings, documenting the process of multiple placentas that I processed during the pre-certification period, and an interview with the Placenta Prep program trainer to ensure full understanding of completing this process. Additionally, I have passed Biologix Blood Borne Pathogens for Doulas and Placenta Encapsulators course in accordance with OSHA’s Bloodborne Pathogens Standard, 29 CFR 1910.1030. I agree to abide by the standards of professionalism as set forth by these organizations to not only maintain my certification, but to ensure that each and every client I serve receives a professional service. I will not cut corners when it comes to safety.
BONUS: Central Nebraska Doula also offers Postpartum Abdominal Binding sessions. We are happy to provide this service while in your home before processing your placenta.
If you are interested in our services, give us a call or click here to fill out our contact form. We would love to support you and your growing family!