This is part 3 of a 4 part blog series discussing Placenta Encapsulation and your safety. The inside scoop.
You decide; mountain or mole hill?
There’s been some talk lately about, “allowing a stranger into your home” for the purpose of placenta encapsulation. We’re certain this is making a mountain out of a molehill. Stay with me for a minute here.
When I found out I was pregnant with my first, I had to find a provider for prenatal care. I wasn’t sure how far along I was so I wanted to find out and also receive great prenatal care.
I looked up a list of providers who were covered under my insurance and held qualifications to serve me. From there I used a random process of elimination. I finally had it settled down to two. I called and was able to find out which hospital these provider practiced at and from there I set an appointment with one of them since they had the credentials and the time and date I wanted.
I went in, provided urine in a cup (so much fun) and then dropped my panties for the provider who recommended a trans-vaginal ultrasound since they were more accurate than an abdominal ultrasound in the first trimester. I dropped my panties for a complete stranger!?!?
No, for a professional provider of a service which involves removing some of my clothing. NO BIG DEAL.
How many of you can relate to me here? Provider list, eliminate, into stirrups for a provider to do a trans-vaginal ultrasound, yearly vaginal exam or cervical check by one of the on call providers you may have never met or only vaguely think you remember?
Many women do this every single day, it’s not odd, and it’s not strange. Why?
Well, perhaps it’s not one of those services your get all excited about like a massage. Awe, massage, yet another service that requires you shed some or all clothing for to hop onto a table face down to receive a professional service.
Do you see where this is going?
Hiring a professional to encapsulate your placenta in the privacy and comfort of your own home is not strange at all because you are hiring a professional. Someone who has received adequate education, training, sometimes brand new to practicing independently and other times they are veterans. Someone who is running a professional placenta encapsulation business is no different than those other professional services I listed above.
The mobile massage therapist, personal chef, nanny, and air duct repair person or carpet cleaning professionals are perfect examples of professionals that provide a service in your home.
First Coast Doulas are not strangers in our client’s home. We are professionals and our professional placenta encapsulation services include a skype session for anyone interested in placenta encapsulation services alone.
Each person has the choice to meet us before we ever arrive to encapsulate for them. We believe in the safety of clients and our encapsulation specialists as well as a woman’s right to have, keep, and ingest/consume her placenta if she so chooses.
So, it’s very clear to see that the stranger talk is merely trying to make a mountain out of a mole hill!
The question is, why? Why all the drama and hype surrounding this topic? Why a mountain out of a molehill? Professionalism is being compromised for the sake of convenience and to save women money! Safety and professionalism versus convenience and savings. Hmm, something seems off with this picture.
Well, I can tell you the arguments I have heard against our policy for in the client’s home only and I will let you decide; mountain or molehill.
“I had one in the freezer and my husband thawed it for dinner thinking it was a roast.” Mountain or Molehill? My vote, mountain! This is not safe, why is this space being shared with food the encapsulation specialist will eat? Whose placenta is it? What if the husband through some soy sauce on it the final day of thawing to marinade it and the client has a food allergy? This client could get sick.
“Same as preparing food in your kitchen for others like a caterer. Your kitchen would need to be inspected and licensed.” Mountain or molehill? If you cannot prepare food legally for a catering business in your home without a license why is encapsulating someone’s placenta for them to ingest in your home legal? If it hasn’t been inspected how are you certain that the encapsulation specialist’s space is up to your level of clean? Are roaches present in their home? How about their car that they transported it in? Are they willing to risk their own necks to encapsulate for you? One should ask themselves why. How many of you are funny about eating food at a potluck that came from someone’s house you hardly know and whose house you’ve never seen?
“I add dish soap to the bleach when I soak my equipment.” WHAT?! Mountain! This is an unsafe practice that involves doing what the encapsulation specialist thinks is best versus what has been determined safest by OSHA standards. This practice is very dangerous because you are risking cross contamination with a number of things, including someone else’s blood.
“She picked up my placenta 2 weeks ago, but she won’t return my phone call. I feel violated and wish she would just tell me where my placenta is or what happened to it. I pretty sad, been crying about this for days, at this point if she brought me my capsules I think I would just toss them in the trash.” Mountain or molehill? Mountain! Why would someone not get back with a client? This is no way to run a business. Turns out this person wasn’t running a legal business and not surprising she is acting unprofessionally.
“My cat jumped up and pulled a piece of placenta off the dehydrator when I was in the middle of slicing it up and had to stop to get my two year old a drink. I yelled to drop that placenta, is it ok or should I toss it? She only chewed on it for a less than a minute before I caught her. Do I call the vet? WWYD?” Turns out, cats like placenta too.
This isn’t all I seen, stay tuned for the next and final blog in this 4 part series. Find out some ways to stay safe when selecting a placenta encapsulation specialist.
To be continued…
