Hellobee

I was at pre-natal yoga one late summer afternoon, eight months pregnant, huge, sweaty, and tired, when I overheard the two women next to me chatting about placenta encapsulation. I had read about the process online, but I wasn’t sure if it was something I wanted to do. I have a genuine phobia of swallowing pills, plus, it was another hefty expense to add to an already expensive adventure. But on that day, one of the my fellow yoga mamas mentioned to her friend that not only was she getting her placenta made into pills, but she would be getting a print of her placenta to keep. I couldn’t imagine what that meant; I really didn’t know much about what a placenta even looked like at that point. I googled it immediately and I was in awe of the beautiful prints that I found.

Placenta printing is the act of taking the fresh placenta, dipping it in dye or paint, and stamping it onto a surface, usually a canvas or acid-free artist’s paper. The resulting print will show the shape and outline of the placenta and umbilical cord, along with many of the interior lines, folds, veins, and surfaces. Some forgo the use of paint and use just the remaining blood to make the print. Many people think that the art resembles a tree, which makes sense since the placenta is often called “the tree of life.” I found that some people will take the umbilical cord and manipulate it to spell out words in the print, such as “birth,” “love,” or “boy.” Other placenta experts will curl or roll the umbilical cord on the bottom, so that the print shows its entire length.

The search for a local placenta expert was very fruitful, and there were so many women to choose from. I eventually asked my doula to help narrow it down, and I ended up working with a truly wonderful mama who was so excited about her work. She had many packages to choose between, and I decided to go with a mid-range option that included the encapsulation, a placenta tincture, a placenta print, and an umbilical “keepsake,” which is the dried umbilical cord molded into a shape or word.

The process was fairly straightforward. I was nervous about getting the placenta out of the hospital without a struggle, but in the end, it was very simple. My doula, who was to deliver it to the placenta expert, had to sign a form to show that she understood she was handling a biohazard and medical waste. My hospital provided a lidded bucket, and just a few hours after birth my doula took the placenta and drove it off to be processed. While I was resting peacefully with my son, everyone else took care of the details!

Once my placenta arrived, a print was made, with blue and green food safe dye. There is also some blood mixed into the paint. A slice of the placenta was used to make a tincture, which will last indefinitely. The remaining organ was dried and ground up with herbs before being placed into capsules. Finally, the umbilical cord, which was quite a bit shorter than the average cord, was shaped into a heart and dried for 48 hours. Three days later, my placenta expert visited me at home and brought all of these items right to my living room, explained how to use everything, and gave me a very sweet gift of some essential oils and mothers milk tea. It was a very comforting welcome into the new mom club.

I am extremely grateful that I heard about this practice in time to choose to have my placenta commemorated with the print and umbilical keepsake. I didn’t have a birth photographer and have very few photos from the experience, so the print is even more special to me. Knowing that it sustained my son for the first 9 months of his existence is so amazing. We have the print hanging in my son’s nursery, and I love seeing it displayed!

Would you consider getting a placenta print made, or have you had it done? I would love to hear about your personal experience!