Safety & Benefits

At Tyo Placenta, your safety is of paramount importance. Working with organ tissue is a big deal, and we treat it as such.  Every placenta, every time.  Here are just a few of the things that Tyo Placenta has in place to give you peace of mind:

• We are Chicagoland’s only trained and certified APPA-C team, having completed APPA’s rigorous placenta encapsulation training program (roughly 200+ hours of training for each of us, with recertification happening annually)
• We are trained and certified through the National Restaurant Association as  ServSafe Food Handlers
• We are trained and certified through APPA’s Blood Borne Pathogens course, renewed annually
• When appropriate, we utilize single-use equipment to minimize the risk of cross-contamination
• We only use EPA-approved disinfectants for non-disposable items

All certificates are current and are available for you to view.  We periodically review material for updates and follow along with the current research and developments in the placenta world. APPA requires renewal every year; our memberships are current through 2020. We renew our blood borne pathogens certificate every year and our food handlers certificate every three years.

Every placenta. Every time.

Our encapsulator certification is dependent on submission of protocol that is rigorously reviewed by the APPA board. You can be confident that your placenta is handled impeccably from pick-up to delivery. Every placenta, every time.

Ummmm, COVID-19.

Oh yes.  What interesting times we are living in, even more so if you are wrangling a pregnancy and birth during the times of prenatals without partners, and locked-down hospitals.  First off, You Can Do This!  It’s hard, and you can do this. [Breathe.]

Second,  how does the time of COVID-19 impact the encapsulation process?  Not much has changed. We are always practicing universal precautions when processing, for your safety and for ours.  At this time we are strongly recommending that if you have had COVID-19 during your pregnancy or have had a recent exposure, particularly during the 3rd trimester, that you opt for the Traditional processing method over the Raw.  If you are having a hospital birth, you will most likely be screened and tested for COVID-19 upon arrival at the hospital.  If you test positive* then we would not proceed with encapsulation. 

*We have had clients that are asymptomatic test positive, only to test negative upon being retested. If you test positive but believe the test is wrong, ask to be retested and preserve your placenta.    We are happy to proceed with a subsequent negative result.

“BUT. I’m GBS+.”

GBS is a bacteria that everybody – you, your partner, your mom, your cashier at Walgreens – carries on their bodies, all the time.  When you are tested in pregnancy, your provider is checking to see if you have an overabundance of the bacteria.  If you do, this makes you “positive” for GBS.  Being GBS+ does not mean you have an infection and does not mean you or your baby are in danger.  What it means is that you’ll likely be given antibiotics during labor to mitigate the small risk of either of you developing a GBS infection, which is a rare but potentially serious complication.  With regard to encapsulation, we know that GBS bacteria is killed off when following certain heating protocols, which we strictly follow in our APPA-certified process (see the research here: https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/laboratory-biosafety-biosecurity/pathogen-safety-data-sheets-risk-assessment/streptococcus-agalactiae.html?fbclid=IwAR1FkMPXYgdBHA6zj0j_7WiFj2T2QnVDSXocw0dV6SG2fnXhBsxRXr4XIlA)

For your reference (and your provider’s), a handy little GBS cheat sheet is included in your transport kit package. Your placenta is absolutely safe to encapsulate if you are GBS+, unless you or your baby develop an infection during or immediately after labor. A GBS infection, or any type of infection in mother or baby within 48 hours of the birth, means you should not consume your placenta.  For more information, check out this link: https://placentaassociation.com/group-b-strep-placenta-encapsulation/

Still got questions?  Contact me.

Is it safe for my baby?

For as long as you’ve been pregnant (and maybe for months beforehand!) you’ve been so careful about everything that goes into your body.  That doesn’t stop just because you’ve given birth; of course you’re wondering if it’s ok to take placenta pills, especially if you’ll be breastfeeding!  While there is so much we don’t know about encapsulation, the research reports no adverse outcomes for babies of women that encapsulate (see research, below).  Have confidence that when you choose encapsulation with an APPA-certified encapsulator (that’s us!) that practices food-safe protocols (us, again!), your placenta capsules will benefit your postpartum recovery, not hinder it.

Want the research? Of course you do: Benyshek DC, Cheyney M, Brown J, Bovbjerg ML. Placentophagy among women planning community births in the United States: Frequency, rationale, and associated neonatal outcomes. Birth. 2018 Dec;45(4):459-468. doi: 10.1111/birt.12354. Epub 2018 May 2. PubMed PMID: 29722066.

Each woman, each pregnancy, and each placenta is unique.  Perhaps this is one reason science has had a hard time nailing down exactly what about the placenta can be so beneficial!  Women, however, have had no problem identifying the benefits they’ve experienced through encapsulation. Some of the the mot common things we hear about at Tyo Placenta are increased energy levels, increased milk supply, steadier mood with less emotional highs and lows.  We’ve also heard about better sleep, less postpartum bleeding, and an overall satisfaction with taking a tangible step towards self-care in an otherwise chaotic time. Take a look:

“I was looking to encapsulate my placenta after suffering from post-partum depression with a previous pregnancy. I was so glad I did because I felt incredibly supported taking my placenta supplements – I never even felt those baby blues! I felt more energy, more breastmilk, and best of all, a stable mood! These were key when bringing home baby while taking care of older siblings at home! What specifically drew me to Tyo Encapsulation was the all-inclusive process she offers – she gives you the cooler to pack in your hospital bag, picks up your placenta from the hospital, then delivers or mails capsules in a very timely manner! The whole process was very simple and seamless! “Merissa, Arlington Heights

“I could not have been more happy with the whole process. From start to finish you were a pleasure to work with. And the capsules were great. I just finished them the other day. I really think they made a big difference in my recovery. ”
Susan, Glen Ellyn

“I just took my last capsule a few days ago. My recovery has been night and day from my first pregnancy and I can’t help but think that you played a huge part in that. I’ve felt great emotionally and have had really good energy and my milk supply has been spot on. I started using my tincture a few days after running out of capsules because I noticed a difference in my mood and the past couple of days seem to be better.”
Natallie, Chicago

“This is my first child, so I have nothing to compare it to. But I know how the pills made me feel and the best way I can describe it would be to say that they made me feel more balanced. I definitely was still a bit all over the place emotionally those first few weeks, but the pills helped even that out a bit.” Molly, Skokie

“Increased energy, positive mood, and very little bleeding were elements of my recovery that I attribute to my placenta pills.” Eliza, Evanston