My placenta services webpage

[TO Doula]

Okay, my turn. For some reason I'm struggling with this a bit. Good writing matters to me, and this feels awkward in many places. I've edited until it's just a mess of red, dotty notations in Word. I'm considering starting fresh, but thought I'd ask for feedback first. I'm very open to constructive criticism. It'll make me think, even if I don't use all of it.


Thanks!

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Placenta Encapsulation

The placenta is a remarkable organ. It is an organ, just like your liver, kidneys or heart. But it’s the only organ the human body can grow when needed and remove when its job is done. And then your body can grow a new one when needed again. Your bag of waters, growing out of the margins of the placenta, is your baby’s home for many months, with your placenta providing everything your baby needs to grow and thrive. As Williams Obstetrics puts it, “It may not be pretty to look at, but it's the most beautiful organ there is.”

So what happens when your body and your baby no longer need their placenta? If you are giving birth in the hospital the fate of your placenta is something you may never think about. The placenta will be examined after the birth and then sent away to be incinerated as medical waste. If you are birthing at home, you will have to decide how to dispose of it yourself. But instead of getting rid of it, it is possible to keep your placenta and do something productive with it if you wish.

Some people bury their placenta deep in the earth, perhaps planting a tree or shrub over it that their child can visit in the future. Some use ink and paper to preserve the image of the placenta's beautiful treelike structure.



Others do something with their placenta which is done by almost all mammals that live and birth on land: use it to support the mother after the birth by consuming it. Many people believe that ingesting the placenta can help rebuild a mother’s blood supply, help increase her milk production, help her feel better after childbirth and reduce the risk of postpartum depression.

You can take advantage of what your placenta has to offer without having to deal with it raw or use it all up immediately after the birth. It can be dried and prepared in capsules that you can take as a supplement in the days and weeks after the birth of your baby.

Encapsulation may be done in your home or mine. It should be done soon, though. Best results will be obtained if the placenta is prepared within 48 hours or so of the birth. You can bring your placenta home from the hospital in a plastic ice cream tub-sized container or doubled, freezer-strength, large ziplock bags. It should be kept refrigerated, but not frozen.

You don’t need to be a doula client to take advantage of Lucina placenta services. Please contact me for more information about preparation methods, printmaking or any other thoughts you have about how to honour or make use of your amazing placenta.

Disclaimer:

I am not a licensed medical professional and I am not able to diagnose, treat or prescribe for any health condition. Services and fees are for the preparation and encapsulation of your placenta, not for the sale of the pills. No specific benefits or effects are promised. It is your responsibility to determine whether using placenta preparations may be of benefit to you.

[raeben]

i really like your disclaimer - very clear as to the families responsibilities.

i would probably put in something about how they can get it released from the hospital because this is the most complicated part for my clients. you will get requests from people with frozen placentas so you should maybe have some info on that for them either in your page or when you talk to them.

i really like this part:

Quote:

Others do something with their placenta which is done by almost all mammals that live and birth on land: use it to support the mother after the birth by consuming it.

its a great way to simply explain it and normalize it as well.

i would maybe include some other links or resources so families can do their own research - i really like how brie has helpful links on the sidebar of her webpage. generally i err on the "more information is better" side of the spectrum but do understand that most people don't want to plow through pages of text either so i think links are helpful for those who will want more info. maybe also having info for what people could do with their placentas since you mention that.

also, i think images will be helpful when you get to that point.

overall, i think its great!

[TO Doula]

Quote:

Originally Posted by raeben i really like your disclaimer - very clear as to the families responsibilities. i would probably put in something about how they can get it released from the hospital because this is the most complicated part for my clients. you will get requests from people with frozen placentas so you should maybe have some info on that for them either in your page or when you talk to them. i really like this part: its a great way to simply explain it and normalize it as well. i would maybe include some other links or resources so families can do their own research - i really like how brie has helpful links on the sidebar of her webpage. generally i err on the "more information is better" side of the spectrum but do understand that most people don't want to plow through pages of text either so i think links are helpful for those who will want more info. maybe also having info for what people could do with their placentas since you mention that. also, i think images will be helpful when you get to that point. overall, i think its great!

Thanks for the detailed input. I haven't put anything in about hospital release because I've never had anyone have a problem at this point. I haven't had a lot of clients over the years who wanted to take their placentas home, but those who have have had no problem. Often a nurse will act like it's weird or a nuisance, but she will also go scare up a container if needed and tell the parents which fridge to keep it in during their hospital stay.

I'm interested and a little nervous to see what will happen with my first two hospital-birthing doula clients who have asked for encapsulation - they have both put in their birth plans that they want their placenta given to their doula. ! I did not suggest putting this in their birth plans, but I haven't suggested taking it out, either, because I want to see what kind of response we get.

I added a line that if they have a frozen placenta they want to use they should contact me to discuss it - I put it in originally as a heads-up that it only needs to go into the fridge prior to prep, but I don't want to scare off anyone who may have already frozen theirs. I'm assuming that if you've got something that's freezer burned you don't want to use it, just as with any other kind of meat?

I have a separate Resources page where I'm going to add a link to PBi, since it's full of good information. I wish I knew how to add pictures nicely to my site. There are none anywhere, except in a table of book recommendations on my resources page. I have a copy of Dreamweaver to play with, and I'd like to add some images, but that's going to have to wait until I have more time and brainspace. I want to add some client quotes, too. At least I have a template to follow for doing pullquotes.

Somewhere along the line yesterday I managed to find your page on your group's website. That group looks really, really cool. Makes me wish I still lived in Vancouver - but then most things do! (sigh) That's where I got started with all this stuff, teaching with the GVCEA back in the late 80s.