“Our creation stores tell of the Earth Mother birthing the world: her amniotic fluid became the oceans, the placenta became the Tree of Life.”
~ Robin Lim, midwife and the author of Placenta: The Forgotten ChakraIf you are planning a hospital or birth centre birth:
Request to keep your placenta. Bring a large container ( a big yogurt tab works well) along with a double zip-lock bag. If encapsulation is something you are considering, bring a small cooler with ice - the placenta needs to go on ice immediately after birth to stay viable for processing.
If I’m your doula, I’ll take care of this for you, and clients booking the Full Village package receive an additional discount on encapsulation services.
Beyond encapsulation:
Some families choose a different path entirely - returning the placenta to the earth. Ceremonial burial is common, and some families plant a tree over it in their yard, letting it grow alongside their child as “their” tree. It’s a quiet, beautiful practice, and something worth considering even if encapsulation isn’t for you.
Placenta Encapsulation
I hold real reverence for this organ - your body grew it alongside your baby for nine months, and in many traditions, it’s honoured rather than discarded. Whatever you choose to do with your placenta, I believe it deserves care.
I follow Traditional Chinese Method, which I trained in over a decade ago. Your placenta is gently steamed first with supportive plant allies - lemon, jalapeno, and ginger - before being dehydrated and ground into powder for encapsulation.
I do not offer raw processing.
How I Process
I hold a few clear boundaries
Around when I’m able to process a placenta, for your safety and your baby’s:
If there were signs of infection, fever, or antibiotics given during labour
If you tested positive for Group B Strep (GBS)
If there’s a risk of certain infections transmitted during birth (placenta won’t be released at all)
These aren’t arbitrary rules - proper handling matters enormously in this work, and I hold to strict protocols throughout the entire process, from pickup to encapsulation. It’s part of why my pricing reflects the level of care involved.
Experience You Can Trust
I was one of the first doulas in the Ottawa area to offer placenta encapsulation, starting over a decade ago. Since then, I’ve had the privilege of training other doulas in this practice and was featured on CityTV discussing the process.
Feedback from families over the years has been consistently warm - many share that they felt genuinely supported in their recovery.
If this feels like the right choice for you - reach out - Let’s connect!