Are Placenta Capsules Safe for My Baby?

Safe and properly prepared capsules by Wichita Doula

Recently, a slew of articles have flown around the Internet regarding a case study in which a baby suffered from GBS (group B strep) late-onset infection, and the mother's placenta capsules were blamed as they were found to contain GBS. What is really going on here, and is placenta encapsulation a good idea or not? Can your baby get sick from placenta capsules?

First, What is GBS (Group B Strep)?

GBS is a type of bacteria which is normally found in the human body. Your doctor or midwife will swab the vaginal area once in the last few weeks of pregnancy to test for an overpopulation of this bacteria. If the results are positive, then the mother is given antibiotics during labor in order to help prevent the baby getting an infection from the overpopulation of bacteria in the vagina. You can learn about GBS in greater detail here.

The case study explained that there was no transmission of GBS in the breastmilk, so how could the baby become sickened by the mother ingesting her placenta capsules? Obviously we are missing some details here, but a number of birth professionals have hypothesized that the baby could have picked it up from the mother's skin, at the hospital, or from contact with someone else. Look at this awesome, thorough article about this case from the Association of Placenta Preparation Arts.

Another fact gleaned from the case study is that the placenta was not processed properly at a high enough temperature to kill this bacteria. They found the presence of the bacteria in the dried placenta.

As the foremost expert on placenta encapsulation and safety standards in the area, this is why I urge parents to please, please, not cut corners when it comes to placenta encapsulation. Please choose a reputable certified provider who is trained by the Association of Placenta Preparation Arts or other approved agency, and who holds current certificates in bloodborne pathogen transmission prevention and food handling safety. There are practitioners who process placentas in their home kitchen based off YouTube training and this is not suitable for your health and safety.

This is why at Wichita Doula we do not offer the raw method of placenta preparation in any form: only the Traditional Method of placenta encapsulation. We thoroughly steam the placenta to kill this bacteria, and then dehydrate at high temperatures for an appropriate length of time in order to be sure that it is free of organisms that could sicken you. We also follow an extremely strict sanitation protocol, and altogether forego encapsulation when there has been an infection in the mother or baby during labor or immediately after birth. (Please note that a positive test for GBS colonization is not the same thing as a GBS infection)

While a warning to all parents against a certain practice should certainly never be based on a single case study, I do appreciate the opportunity to talk about placenta encapsulation safety standards and reiterate the necessity of properly trained providers.

Why Do We Offer Placenta Encapsulation?

Is there a ton of double blind research on the benefits of placenta encapsulation? Not at this time. However, we feel that our dozens and dozens of satisfied clients, and thousands more happy parents around the world, speak for themselves! We understand that there are always going to be parents who choose to encapsulate their placenta despite the lack of irrefutable evidence, and therefore we made it our mission to create a local option for them to have a completely safe, sanitary experience without risk to their health.