Is Placenta Encapsulation Safe? What You Need To Know.

The Center for Disease Control (CDC) published a statement on June 30th, 2017 drawn from one case study

on an individual concerning an infant’s late-onset, secondary Group B Strep (GBS) bacterial infection and made a correlation that it was coming from its mother’s placenta capsules. This statement has led to confusion in the birthing community in regards to the safety of placenta encapsulation.

Important Facts about the case study:

• In September 2016 the mother was screened, as per standard protocol, at 37 weeks for group B Streptococcus agalactiae (GBS) bacteremia and tested negative for the bacteremia.
• Shortly after the birth, the infant began showing signs of systemic infection, was admitted to NICU and subsequently tested positive for GBS. The baby was was treated with an 11-day course of antibiotics and discharged following treatment.
• 5 days later, the infant was re-admitted to a different hospital and was again positive for GBS. A second antibiotic treatment protocol was followed. To discern where the infection was coming from the doctors performed a series of tests which included the mother’s breastmilk and no bacteria was found.
• Seeking a source of the infection, doctors tested the placenta capsules the mother had been ingesting and the capsules tested positive for GBS.
• The infant’s diagnosis was “late-onset GBS disease attributable to high maternal colonization secondary to consumption of GBS-infected placental tissue.”

The Red Flags in this Case Study and Interpreting the CDC recommendations

1. This paper is a case study of one infant, not a large study looking at placenta encapsulation in general.
2. The way the placenta was processed: It was raw and dehydrated at low temperatures (115-16°F) which did not kill the GBS bacteria. This form of processing is not up to Homegrown Babies encapsulation standards.
3. There are no industry standards that exist for proper processing of the placenta for consumption which can lead to cases such as this. Not all placenta encapsulators have adequate training or processes to ensure “risk outs” are followed and or avoid contamination by bacteria or another infectious disease.
4. This lack of regulations is one of the primary reasons that the CDC does not recommend consuming the placenta postpartum in any form.

What you should know about Homegrown Babies stance in regards to Placenta Encapsulation

At Homegrown Babies we understand that nothing is without risks and that includes placenta encapsulation.

We strive to provide care that is based on current evidence based information and research.  However, there are often times where medical technologies or procedures relating to perinatal health are used before the studies are available to support their efficacy or safety.

Studies in Western medicine regarding this practice are limited and some sources outdated. There is currently one small subset of a larger study happening at the University of Las Vegas, Nevada that has been published in relationship to identifying hormones in the placenta and relating to iron deficiency anemia and postpartum depression.  You can read more about this study on the website Evidence Based Birth.

At this point in time, placenta encapsulation is consumer-driven, and is not an evidence-driven process. Although eating dried placenta has been practiced in traditional Chinese medicine since the 1500s, in the United States consuming placenta has only been fairly popular since the 1970s, with increasing popularity in the past 10 years due to celebrities driving the trend.

At Homegrown Babies, it is of the utmost importance that we preserve one of the primary pillars of our care: informed choice. If a client chooses to have their placenta encapsulated, we have a responsibility to make sure that they have access to the best and safest processing possible.  We also make sure that they understand, even with these rigorous standards, that they are ingesting their placenta at their own risk.

Homegrown Babies wants to ensure that this process is the safest possible for our clients.

Our placenta services are provided by placenta encapsulation specialists with extensive training and certifications in the following:

1. Our encapsulators are trained and certified through International Placenta & Postpartum Association.
2. They follow OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) standards for preventing transmission of bloodborne diseases.
3. They have been Certified By Biologix Solutions, Bloodborne Pathogens & Infectious Control For Placenta Encapsulation.
4. Our encapsulators follow Federal and State food handling guidelines.

We ensure that extremely rigorous safety protocols are followed by engaging the following procedures:

1. There are certain conditions and circumstances that increase the risk of a placenta contracting or carrying pathogens which would cause the placenta to “risk outs” for  encapsulation. These include: preexisting infection with human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, hepatitis, herpes, chlamydia, syphilis, Lyme disease and any active intra- or postpartum infection in mother or baby. If any of these higher-risk conditions are present, Homegrown Babies placenta encapsulation specialists do not encapsulate.  * Please note that having a positive screen for GBS colonization does not mean mother or baby will have a GBS infection and in and of itself is not a “risk out” for placenta encapsulation
2. The placenta encapsulation specialist handles each placenta directly from the doctor, midwife or nursing staff to cut out error from a family member or doula mishandling the  placenta.
3. The placenta is put into a quick cooling environment within 1 hour of the birth.
4. Processing is begun as soon as 4 hours after the birth and always within 48 hours with placentas being held at sensitive organ food handling temperatures under 40 degrees for 48 hours or less.
5. The encapsulation specialist processes one placenta at a time in the dedicated placenta processing facility.
6. As a part of the placenta preparation process placentas are cleaned, steamed at 135°F for 30 minutes and dehydrated at 160°F for the first 2 hours of the dehydrating process to kill any remaining bacteria.
7. The encapsulation specialist utilizes a separate enclosed processing facility that includes the following for safety standards:  Stainless steel counter tops and sinks, an independent refrigerator kept at below 40°F at all times, a sanitizing dishwasher that reaches a temperature of 175°F, an independent range top for the steaming process and chemical means of disinfection of all non-disposable equipment.
8. This process for encapsulation exceeds the CDC and Public Health standards for killing any bacteria including Salmonella and Streptococcus Agalactiae.

Even with all these precautions in place, placenta encapsulation is not without risk. People who choose to ingest their placenta have decided that the potential benefits outweigh the potential risks – especially when they hire a professional placenta encapsulation service like ours that safely handles one placenta at a time.

Please contact us if you have any further questions about this case study, our process, or to find out if placenta encapsulation is the right choice for you!