Birth, Baby!

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Welcome, this is Birth, Baby.

Your hosts are Ciarra Morgan and Samantha Kelly.

Ciarra is a birth doula, HypnoBirthing educator, and pediatric sleep consultant.

Samantha is a birth doula, childbirth educator, and lactation counselor.

Join us as we guide you through your options for your pregnancy, birth, and postpartum journey.

Today, we're joined by Peggy Garcia, owner of BeLoved Doula and Postpartum Care in Austin, Texas.

She's a birth and postpartum doula, placenta specialist and lactation counselor.

And she is going to talk to us all about placentas today.

Thanks for joining us today, Peggy.

Thank you so much for having me on.

So tell us about how you got educated in placenta encapsulation and how long you've been doing it.

Absolutely.

So I took my certification through Best Doula training.

They also have a placenta encapsulation training.

So I went through that.

I also took a bloodborne pathogen class and a food handling class.

So it all kind of encompasses into making sure that everything stays safe and is healthy placenta.

So I've been doing this for about three years now, a little bit more.

And I think I just did my 200th placenta now, so.

Wow, that's neat.

I didn't know you would count those, but hey, we count all the things, right?

We get excited about silly things when we're in the birth world, I think.

And I at one point considered encapsulating placentas.

I actually wanted to come watch you do it.

I don't know if you remember that.

And I told my husband that I was considering doing it and he was like, how much money would you make each time you do that?

I don't know, like $200?

And he goes, yeah, I'll pay you $200 every time you don't do that in our house.

I said, well, we'll just refer to Peggy then.

So why would someone want to encapsulate their placenta and what are the potential benefits of that?

Absolutely, there's tons of potential benefits.

Some of the biggest ones that I see with a lot of the families that I work with is an increase in their iron.

Your placenta is a great source of your iron, where we're not giving you a supplement or something off the shelf.

And some of the other benefits is it helps really curb a lot of the postpartum depression or anxiety that a lot of moms face after having a baby.

And the reason for that is I'm giving you back your hormones and we're able to kind of level them out with different doses of your placenta.

Some of the other great things that we can experience is a good milk supply and also a reduction in postpartum bleeding.

So your body actually heals a little bit faster when we're giving you your placenta encapsulations, your placenta pills.

We've heard information in the past about how consuming placenta products could possibly lower breast milk production.

And this kind of makes sense to me since the prolactin spikes once the placenta has been birthed and that's kind of what helps that milk to come in.

We've also heard claims that ingesting placenta products increases breast milk production.

What is your feedback about this, especially as a lactation counselor, and what would be your advice to someone concerned about it?

I've kind of found, honestly, in my own experience with the families that I support with birth and postpartum and their encapsulation, where a lot of times it's also correlated to cesareans.

And when you do have a cesarean, sometimes it takes a little bit longer for your milk to come in.

So a lot of times what I'll suggest to my families is if you've had a cesarean, let's pause and not take your pills until your milk supply is in.

Typically that can take up to five days.

So I usually say at seven days postpartum, let's go ahead and start those pills.

And we start them nice and slow, which is one in the morning, one in the afternoon, where we're able to really keep an eye on milk supply and mom's health.

Sam, did you encapsulate your placenta with either of your kids?

I did not.

I really didn't even know much about placenta encapsulation until I became a doula.

So I didn't know anything about it.

Yeah, with my daughter, I mean, she's 13 now.

So I had no idea.

And I also lived in a military town.

There wasn't a whole lot of extra crunchy things going on.

But with my son, I learned about it.

And I was like, yeah, I mean, kind of like an insurance policy is what it was in my book.

I was like, I don't want to regret not doing it.

I'm just going to try it and we'll see how it works.

And when I did it and I would take it, because I think now they don't say you have to put it in the refrigerator, but when I got it, they told me that I needed to store it in the refrigerator.

And when I did, I would kind of forget to get it because I wasn't going to the refrigerator, my husband would.

So when I would remember to take it, I would notice an increase in my energy and my breast milk production.

But my husband insisted that that was just a, he was like, that's a placebo effect.

I was like, I don't care, either way it works.

So do you find that kind of people are, that people have different reactions kind of based on their expectations?

I almost feel like it's a self-fulfilling prophecy sometimes.

Yeah, I, it's really funny because typically it's the moms that are like, I'm all in, I've done my research, I've talked to you about it, you've answered all the questions, I want to do it.

And then a lot of the times it's the dads that are like, eh, not so sure I want that in my house.

But once I kind of explain the process and that it's coming back to you in cute little pills that are flavored potentially or vegan pills, they get a little bit more excited.

And I explain it the same way you do.

It is exactly like a little insurance policy.

So why wouldn't you do it?

Yeah, you don't have to take them.

They can be sitting in, you just wait.

And then if you ever decide you want to try it, it's there.

So I know that there's placenta encapsulation, but what other kind of products can you make with the placenta and what are the benefits of each of those products?

Yeah, so I can also make a placenta tincture, which honestly I've had moms keep it and they're going to keep it until they go through menopause.

If we're able to level out your hormones after having a baby, why can't we do that during menopause as well?

So that's usually the biggest reason why they keep it.

For the other one is if they still find that they need support after they run out of their pills, they're able to take that tincture because after six weeks, their tincture is ready to go.

So it's perfect timing on that.

Right, I've heard that before.

Like, I mean, because postpartum, like mood disorders can pop up anytime in the first, I think they say three years now.

It used to be one year.

I think they're saying three years now.

So it makes sense to have something that you can kind of have in your back pocket just in case something comes up later to potentially address that.

Absolutely.

And we can also do salves where it's anything, we're taking care of the inside of mom with pills and tinctures.

And now we can take care of the outside of mom as well with these salves.

And it can be used on cesarean scars.

It can be used on cracked and bleeding nipples for breastfeeding, eczema spots, dry skin, any of the things that are external for mom and baby, and they're safe for both.

So we can use them there too.

I also have started doing placenta prints, which I have fallen in love with.

They're beautiful and absolutely amazing.

And we use all food safe, food colorings and dyes where it's easy to wash off and still encapsulate without a problem.

This is anecdotal, but I had a client, and you might remember this, Peggy, you encapsulated her placenta, and she didn't do a salve or a tincture that wasn't even on her radar.

And she had keloid scars, and she hadn't even considered anything to do with them when she decided to encapsulate her placenta.

And a few, I don't know, it was like maybe a month after her baby was born, she sent me a picture, and she was like, Ciarra, here's a picture from like pre-pregnancy when I was at the beach, it's just a way that you can see the scar that's on my knee, and it's a huge keloid scar.

And she goes, now I'm one month postpartum, look at it.

And she sent me a picture.

And it was like, she swore that her placenta products were like healing her body from the inside and helping her body kind of rejuvenate.

I just thought that was really neat.

So we never know what it's going to do to help us, right?

No, that's amazing.

I, you know, one of the other things that I usually talk about too, with all of my families is, you know, every animal that has a baby or a puppy or a calf or whatnot, they eat their afterbirth and they're healthy.

Those, you know, those animals that are out there are thriving and doing amazing and it's healing their bodies inside and out.

So why wouldn't it for our moms?

Yeah, that totally makes sense to me.

So for placenta encapsulation, what is the difference between raw and traditional preparation?

I know we have people ask us this all the time, like, should we do raw or should we do traditional?

I'm like, I don't know, just do whatever your heart says, but what do you, yeah, what's the difference between those and how many pills do you normally get with those options?

So the difference really between raw and steamed, the traditional way, is if mom has, you know, if they're GBS positive, or if there's a large amount of meconium at birth, it's usually when we kind of steer more towards the steamed prep, because it's killing all that bacteria.

And the catch with that is typically you're going to get less pills, right?

Because we're, it's just like cooking a piece of meat.

It kind of shrinks down a little bit.

Your placenta is going to do the same thing.

If mom's healthy, baby's healthy, and no complications with GBS or anything like that, and she's been treated, then we can also do that raw prep.

Not a problem.

How many, how many pills are they going to get, Peggy?

Trick question.

I don't know.

Everybody's placenta is different, just like everybody's baby is different.

I've had some pretty big babies and little tiny placentas and little tiny babies and huge placentas.

The norm though is typically somewhere between 125 pills, up to 250 pills.

That's a lot of pills, or it sounds like a lot of pills.

And you give instructions as you drop them off or whatever.

People are able to know exactly how to take them.

And I love too that you give if this, then this.

So they get a little bit of a guide on how to alter it if they're needing to.

Okay, so I have had somebody ask before, raw versus traditional, does that mean, like one is steamed, so if the one is raw, is it raw pieces of placenta going into pill capsules?

So can you kind of explain the difference between, I know you told us why you can get one or the other, but can you explain the difference between what raw really means and traditional?

Absolutely, so traditional is steamed, where we're going to take the placenta and steam it before it's dehydrated.

With the raw prep, we're dehydrating it from a raw state.

So no matter what, your placenta is not coming back to you raw, it's going to be dehydrated, grinded down and put into pills for you.

But then there's those lovely people also, I know what Sam's going to say, go for it Sam.

I do, I do, okay, so I've seen this in other places and I know this isn't something that you offer, but I'm curious what you know about it.

Like the smoothie, I don't know how else to say it, smoothie chunks, smoothie cubes, chunks of placenta to put in your smoothie.

Can you tell us a little bit about that and what that, why, just why?

Yeah, placenta cubes.

I've had plenty of people inquire about it.

And the reason I don't offer anything that goes back to somebody raw is because I can't guarantee that they're going to keep that at a food safe temp.

It's supposed to be cubed and frozen into certain size portions that they can put into smoothies or cook themselves and put into like a spaghetti sauce or a soup or something like that.

I have chosen not to do that just because I'm trying to keep everybody as safe as possible.

And I don't want to chance anybody getting contamination from that.

So fair.

Well, they do say organ meats.

Organ meats are good part of an healing.

So I guess that's just your own organ meat.

Your own organ meat.

I've been watching The Great on Hulu and they just had an episode where they were like making a vodka with her placenta, like a vodka that was like in her placenta.

And I was like, oh, well, I mean, I guess that would be probably pretty food safe because it's alcohol, but that's a vibe.

That's interesting.

Oh my gosh.

What will they come up with next?

Hey, there's brownies, there's gummies, there's all sorts of things out there right now.

Well, you're really boring, Peggy.

You only do a salve, a tincture and encapsulation.

Get with the program.

I need to up my game.

I just want to say, we're not making fun of these things.

We're just having a good time because we think things are silly and we giggle.

But I've heard plenty of people have placenta smoothies and some people really enjoy it.

Other people I've heard kind of choke it down and like, I just know that it can be beneficial for my body.

There are also people, I follow some unassisted birth groups and things like that.

And people will say, if they're having too much bleeding, they'll actually chew on a piece of their placenta or put a piece of their placenta in their cheek.

So there are definitely healing properties to it.

We just like to come up with funny names like placenta cubes.

Placenta cubes.

So what would be contraindicated to use placenta products?

You did give us a couple of little examples, maybe with the way that we would change how you're processing it, but like who should not have their placenta capsulated?

I won't encapsulate if they are positive for HIV, positive for Hepatitis B.

It becomes a pretty bigger risk for everybody at that point, but the most common is if there's an infection present at birth or within that first 24 hours.

If baby has an infection, mom has an infection, membranes have an infection, anything like that, that would definitely be a contradiction and we don't want to encapsulate at that point.

Also, another one can be if mom hasn't been treated for GBS, if she's positive and she's opted not to have the antibiotics during birth, that could be another reason not to encapsulate, especially if there's an infection present soon after.

And just from the practical side of this, because we have clients ask us this, if something like that were to come up during labor, like somebody has a fever, they get diagnosed with Corio or don't get their GBS medications, what would happen with what they had paid towards their placenta?

Would there be other options that they could do instead?

Absolutely.

So I can still do a print and a core keepsake for them.

They typically get a 50% deposit back to them, where we're still transporting potentially and things like that.

We can still make it a beautiful experience and still give them those keepsakes, which is kind of cool.

Awesome.

I love that.

So how long does it usually take for someone to get their placenta products back after you take it?

Typically after it's picked up, it usually takes years from 48 hours to 72 hours.

It is back in their hand with instructions of how to use it and how to benefit from it.

I just thought of something too, is it's going to depend on where you're having your baby, because like in Austin, Texas, there is a hospital that holds on to it for, is it 72 hours, Peggy?

So they won't let you have it until 72 hours.

And then the other places you have to come pick it up within the first couple of hours.

So for all of you consumers, it would be important to ask your birthing place if they have any guidelines on that, no matter where you live.

Absolutely.

And that's why I usually say once it's back in my hands, and not after you've had your baby.

I hear that.

So what is important when choosing someone to process your placenta?

Like, why is it important that they are trained?

I think it's so important, just because there's a lot of safety issues when it comes to dealing with a placenta.

I mean, we're dealing with somebody's organ and blood.

So I absolutely would recommend always picking somebody that is certified, that has taken the blood-borne pathogen class, has also taken a food safety class where we have to keep it at a certain temperature at different times where it's still safe to consume.

If it kind of reaches beyond those points, I won't encapsulate.

It's just not safe.

And I'm not going to risk anybody's health for that.

So we always recommend that within two hours of birth, it's either on ice or in a fridge.

And within four hours, it needs to definitely be in a fridge, nice and cold at a consistent temperature.

And it can remain in the fridge for three to four days.

And then it needs to be frozen.

I recently had a dad say that they did not want to encapsulate because they don't know whose placenta they'll get back.

I was like, her placenta.

And he was like, how do you even know?

Like, well, because I really trust the lady that we use, which is Peggy.

But, you know, that is, that's another reason that this is important.

We want to make sure that somebody is knowing how to keep everything very separate and making sure that these things don't mix.

So that's definitely very important.

Well, this has all been really, really helpful.

Can you tell people how they can find you if they wanted to learn more from you or if they're in the Austin area and wanted to reach out?

Absolutely.

So, BeLoved Doula and Postpartum Care is my business, and they can reach out right on belovedoulacare.com.

Thank you so much.

Thanks for joining us.

Thank you.

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