Your Placenta Deserves Better Than a Shipping Label: Why Local Matters More Than You Think

Note: This is speaking of raw placenta that is time sensitive. There is a much much lower risk with shipping finished placenta pills.)

There is a moment when a pregnant parent hears about placenta encapsulation for the first time and googles- “placenta encapsulation near me”  She expects to find many local options and instead finds a few sponsored listings that are 5 states over and a bunch of random listings that are anywhere but local to her.   I know this because I have had clients contact me and say “oh my gosh. I can’t believe I finally found someone close. I didn’t want to ship my placenta.” This shocks me because 1. I live in the Philadelphia region 2. I’m usually the first non-sponsored listing in the area 3. I know many other placenta encapsulation providers in the area.  This tell me that not everyone is using Google, Google doesn’t always list properly by location and sponsored listings drown out local organic generated listings.

It shouldn’t be difficult for overwhelmed parents to find local services. I know there are hundreds if not thousands of quality placenta encapsulation providers out there.  They just are not always easy to locate. 

I’m making an effort to end that this month.

The placenta is sacred and irreplaceable.

Before we get into logistics lets talk about what matters most. The placenta. This incredible organ was the connection between you and your baby for 9ish months. It nourished your baby and with placenta encapsulation, it can nourish you.  That is sacred.  It’s so sacred that in some cultures it’s tradition to treat it as so by honoring it and celebrating it.   

In the context of placenta encapsulation the stakes are high. Unlike burying it, temp and storage matter if you are going to consume it. Handling matters. Every hour outside of proper storage can make your placenta unconsumable and the window is not long.  Let me put it this way, would you eat a piece of raw chicken that was left out at room temperature for more than 2 hours? 

When a placenta is shipped ever single one of those variable I mention above becomes uncertain. “Uncertain” is a word that does not belong anywhere near something sacred and irreplaceable.  

I am sure this blog post and the Local First Initiative I’m launching is going to ruffle some feathers and you know what, I’m okay with that. I’m okay with that because the safety, sacredness and integrity of our industry matter more to me than upsetting some people. To those that are upset, I have this to say.  There is enough to go around. Supporting other providers supports us in the long run. I also believe in autonomy and if there is a client that really understands the risks of shipping and is willing to take them so you are the one to encapsulate for them, then they absolutely should do that.  

The real risks of shipping your placenta

I’m going to be frank here because I think you deserve that rather than reassurance.

I have been in this industry since 2006. I started offering services to the public in 2012.  I joined Association of Placenta Preparation Arts in 2015 and have been the director since January 2016. In that time, I have seen this industry expand in amazing ways. With that expansion has come questionable practices and accessibility challenges. Shipping placentas has become more popular over the last couple years, with that comes risks. These risks are real, documented and serious.

The placenta can get lost. It happens.  A lot. Packages get mislabeled, rerouted and misplaced all the time. Retail companies can replace the product. The placenta can’t be replaced. It can’t be replaced and that creates a lot of heartbreak. 

The shipment can be delayed. You pay for overnight shipping but weather happens. A transport vehicle breaks down. There’s a carrier error. These things happen to often for it not to happen at some point with a placenta. Safe placenta practices include time sensitivity. Once the time thresholds are breached encapsulation is inadvisable. 

The package can be mishandled. Have you ever received a package and your first thought was, “What were they doing with that? Playing hockey with it?” Your package will travel through many hands and locations before reaching it’s destination. There may be temperature changes, machine malfunctions and uncareful hands that can make your precious package unusable.

I have had these scenarios happen in my own business. I became passionate about this because I did accept shipped placentas within a certain radius.  I thought the risk would be lower of a lost package with a shorter distance. I was wrong.  3 packages went missing.  1 never was recovered. 2 were but they could not be encapsulated. I did provide a keepsake package and it was not pleasant for me to create that.  You can imagine. I took every precaution imaginable and they still were lost.  3 very disappointed moms.  That burned a fire within in to create change.  The Local First Initiative was birth. Pun intended.  

On the flip side, I have shipped thousands of finished encapsulations to local families so they can save on costs. I have had a handful delayed for up to a week. All have been located and that’s because they pass through one UPS facility, that I have a relationship with. When something gets, delayed I am immediately on the phone so it can be prioritized.  That is much harder to do when you are shipping states away.

Local is better for you, your community and the planet

Beyond safety, there is a broader reason for choosing local that I think about a lot. 

For you: a local provider can pick your placenta up quickly and turn around your capsules quickly. Well, not too quick because you want your placenta prepared properly. 😊 You placenta can be picked up from your home, hospital or birth center. Some people (like myself) even have an option where you can bring it to the provider. No worrying about shipping, if your placenta is being mishandled or if it’s going to arrive ready to encapsulate. Working closely with someone local brings a peace of mind you can’t get with a shipping company. 

Your community: when you choose a local provider you are choosing to keep your money circulating in your local economy. You are supporting a small business owner, usually a mother, usually someone who also used placenta encapsulation. Someone who believes in it because they know it intimately not just because they make money from it. 

For the environment: shipping placentas leave an environmental footprint. Foam coolers, cold packs, emissions leave an impact on the Earth that can be avoided when choosing local.

The problem we have been ignoring

Here is the truth I have been sitting with for a long time as a mentor and now director at Association of Placenta Preparation Arts.

There are hundreds of trained, skilled , passionate placenta encapsulation providers around the entire world. They have completed rigorous training.  They uphold high standards. The are as committed to this work as I am.

And many are impossible to find through a Google search.

This is not because they are not competent placenta encapsulation providers. It’s because SEO is a specialized skill that most small business owners -especially those in heart-led businesses- don’t have access too. It’s because major platforms to not make it easy for specialists to show up in local searches. It’s because the internet -for all it’s brilliance- does not yet have the infrastructure for this specific need. 

A mama in Philadelphia who can’t find a local provider doesn’t know that there are three trained specialists within twenty miles of her. A mama in rural Tennessee assumes she has no options — and ships her placenta — not knowing that a certified provider just opened her practice in the next town over.

That gap is not acceptable to me. And I am doing something about it.

Introduction The Local First Initiative and

www.localplacentaencapsulation.com (currently under construction and going live by the end of September!)

www.localplacentaencapsulation.com is a dedicated directory — a searchable, growing, living resource — where pregnant mamas can find trained (not just APPA trained) placenta encapsulation providers near them. Not near a major city. Near them.

This is the Local First Initiative. And it is built on a simple, non-negotiable belief:

Your placenta deserves local care. You deserve to be able to find it.

If you are a trained placenta encapsulation provider, I want you in it. If you are a pregnant mama looking for support near you, this is your starting place. If you know someone who is expecting, share this resource with them — because the chances are high that there is a qualified local provider they simply haven’t been able to find yet.

This is not just a website. It is a movement toward a standard of care that puts safety, community, and connection first. LOCAL FIRST!

Is shipping ever appropriate?

The fact is there are not a lot of providers in certain states and rural locations.  If you have a hard time location someone I HIGHLY encourage you to consider becoming a placenta encapsulation provider. www.placentaassociation.com
If you can’t find someone that means others in your area can’t.  Let’s make local placenta encapsulation accessible! 

So, Local First and when all else fails then utilize a small business that ships and has HIGH standards and ETHICAL practices. Please reach out to me for my recommendations. 

I have trained providers through APPA because I believe standards matter. I have served thousands of clients because I believe postpartum mamas deserve real care.

This initiative is the next expression of that belief.

If you are pregnant and planning ahead — start at www.localplacentaencapsulation.com. Find your local provider. Build that relationship before your baby arrives.

If you are a provider — join the directory as soon as it’s availabe. Your community needs to be able to find you.

And if you believe, as I do, that the placenta is sacred and irreplaceable and deserves to be treated that way — share this. Share it with every pregnant mama you know.

The cycle of inaccessible care breaks here.