After purchase of chosen services, you will receive an email from me (Tender Heart) including a link for contract signing & confirmation of estimated due date, Placenta pick up / Package drop off locations.

As well as confirm any special requests such as Umbilical Cord Keepsake shape. If the Umbilical Cord Keepsake is to be left natural or painted. Oil substitution for Chocolate, Oil substitution / Arnica Oil additions for Salve. Color preferences for Placenta print.

The Placenta is a hormonally & nutritionally active organ during pregnancy. After birth, those hormones & bioavailable nutrients can be utilized to replenish Iron, Estrogen a Progesterone (to name a few) depletion that is common after birth.

Self reports of those who choose to ingest their Placenta comment on increased postpartum energy, assistance in mood / emotional balance & lactation support.

A practice of Placenta Encapsulation - done so by cleansing the Placenta then steaming it with warming herbs such as ginger & lemon.

Slicing into small pieces & dehydrating no higher than 160 degrees F for several hours (size dependent).

Then grinding to a fine powder & packing into capsules for consumption.

The Folk / Cold method of infusing oils is the practice of steeping dried herbs in an air tight jar of oil for several days to weeks, to slowly extract the chosen herb’s natural benefits.

This no-heart process prevents the destruction of sensitive vitamins, antioxidants, and essential fatty acids found in botanicals.

Building your Birth & Postpartum team? Here are some Rad Gals I know & trust! Each lady is a small business owner dedicated to care rooted in respect & warmth.

Vanessa Martinez - Owner of Doula Care AZ is redefining the Postpartum season through her Doula services team in Phoenix & surrounding areas!

Kaytlin Brown‍ - Owner of ‍Asher Birth & Body - Has a team of Massage Therapists & Birth Doulas in Phoenix. She also just so happens to be a fantastic Child Birth Educator through Dare to Birth!

Jordan Odle & Jocelyn Connolly‍ - Owners of The Vagina Docs are a dynamic Pelvic Floor Therapist team in Phoenix. They somehow find the time to post tons of thoughtful & helpful information on their instagram @vaginadocs!

Hollie Calvert‍ - Owner of WILDWEST WAXING is a lovely Esthetician & just so happens to be the fastest waxer in the West! She uses organic & locally sourced hard wax. She’s has a warm & gentle energy (check her out @wildwest.waxing) that’s extra appreciated from her pregnant clients in Scottsdale!

Xochitl Ferrer - Owner of Blooming Bellies Doula Services is an amazing Doula in the greater Phoenix area with a wide variety of practices to honor the Mother postpartum! Check her out @bloomingbellies_doula

Dr. Ashley DeBoer‍ ‍- Owner of reluume is a phenomenal Prenatal & Pediatric Chiropractor. She supports Moms & Babies through pregnancy, postpartum & early parenthood in Scottsdale!

Jen Bell‍ - Owner of ‍Savage Souls Botaniks is a delightful Herbalist & Reiki healer who also teaches a number of in person classes each season in Phoenix!

Across cultures & time the Placenta has been viewed as powerful, sacred & worthy of care - not just biological waste.

Important to note, not all cultures consumed the Placenta. Encapsulation we think of today is a contemporary adaptation to the TCM method.

The Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) method was historically used to support life force - replenishing one’s vitality, blood & support recovery. The Placenta was dried & prepared in powdered or decocted forms. This closely resembles modern day encapsulation.

Indigenous Cultures honored the Placenta through ceremony or burial. Viewing the Placenta as being spiritually connected to the baby - thus returning the Placenta to the Earth. Placenta powder & soil mixtures are a modern adaptation of this practice that is intended to honor the Placenta by returning it to the Earth, while also not requiring you dig a hole or risk the attracting animals to your garden if you plant outside.

European Folk Traditions utilized the Placenta in folk remedies & fertility related concoctions.

Pliny the Elder mentions the Placenta in the 1st Century in reference to the medicinal uses of primarily animal Placentas.

Animal Placenta appears again in the 4th Century within the Roman medical traditions through Sextus Placitus’ accounts of therapeutic Placenta recipes.

Human Placenta arrives in Early Chinese Medical Texts via medical prescriptions in both the 7th & 8th Centuries.

Interest in the medicinal & pharmaceutical properties of the Placenta grew in Medieval Europe through the 12th - 15th Centuries.

And of course the countless beauty products throughout the last most recent centuries using stem cells & plasma found in animal Placenta & Umbilical Cords. I’m looking forward to the next great Placenta discovery!

Honoring your Placenta through modern Encapsulation, Keepsakes, Burial or none of the above - is a personal choice that should suit your lifestyle. The goal is to provide safe & trusted options to growing families!

‍ ‍

Placenta Power: A multifaceted review of its function, its significance for the mother and its integrative use in the postpartum period.

By: Dr Sophia Johnson & Jana Pastuschek

Placenta Wit: Mothers Stories, Rituals and Research

By: Nane Jordan

Babies Are Not Pizzas: They're Born, Not Delivered

By: Rebecca Decker

Birthing from Within: An Extra-Ordinary Guide to Childbirth Preparation

By: Pam England & Rob Horowitz