I am very pleased to announce that Gretchen Vetter in Boise, ID, is PBi’s latest Placenta Encapsulation Specialist to earn her Certification ranking.

Certification is quite an accomplishment. In order to become Certified, a Placenta Encapsulation Specialist must have completed the scientific research, acquired experience in placenta encapsulation services, and completed additional food preparation safety certification in accordance with their state’s health department protocols.

Gretchen has worked hard, and very quickly to attain Certification.

“I have been teaching The Bradley Method Coached Childbirth Classes in the Treasure Valley since 2006. As my knowledge about pregnancy and birth grows, so do my classes! Becoming a Placenta Encapsulation Specialist is a great way to further assist women, not just from my classes, but throughout the community. It is an honor to enhance your postpartum days with the natural wellness that placenta encapsulation can provide.”

And it’s an honor to have you working with PBi to bring the best service possible to the women in your community. Thank you!

I was interviewed last month by Karen Angstadt, on her Love to Labor radio show. Karen is a terrific host, and I think I was able to share some good information on the placenta. I appreciate the opportunity to get my message out there, Karen! Thank you.

The tech guys running the show were apparently all gathered around listening to it too - they heard women were eating the placenta and had to know what we were talking about. I LOVE this work!

Please click the image below to listen in. Also tune into Karen’s show every Monday at 1pm EST/10am PST for other interesting interviews relevant to birth.

Your baby’s placenta may hold significant health benefits for you after your baby’s birth. If you’re pregnant, concerned with postpartum health, or just plain curious, this show will cover what you’ll want to know to make an informed decision about your placenta. Jodi Selander of Placenta Benefits.info will be sharing options for using your placenta to benefit your health after birth. While placentophagia is unusual in the U.S., this traditional practice offers many potential benefits to postpartum women including more energy, increased milk supply, and a natural way to restore balance to your body’s hormones after birth. We’ll talk about what these benefits can mean for mothers in the first few weeks after birth and different options for placentophagy and safe encapsulation.

I am happy to introduce you to Ronda Perea, PBi’s Placenta Encapsulation Specialist in Santa Barbara, CA.

Ronda shares how she came to become a PBi Placenta Encapsulation Specialist.

“Having walked alongside hundreds of birthing women, I view post partum as a sacred yet vulnerable time. Support of all types makes it a more positive and whole experience that in turn increases the woman’s empowerment and the bonding with her baby. Over the years, witnessing first hand the benefits of women who have ingested their placenta, has convinced me of its power and has motivated me to help make it available to all women. Encapsulation is such a practical way to do so.”

Ronda, we are happy to have you as part of PBi’s Network of Placenta Encapsulation Specialists.

Placenta Benefits.info (PBi) has the best training program and network of resources available for those seeking a career in natural postpartum care. Clients can trust PBi Specialists to provide the highest quality placenta encapsulation services available, and know that we will take care of them quickly, safely and professionally.

I am happy to introduce you to Brandi Ridinger, PBi’s Placenta Encapsulation Specialist in San Diego, CA.

Brandi talks about her passion for placenta, and how she came to become a PBi Placenta Encapsulation Specialist.

“I first came across the idea of placentophagia when I was training for my H.H.P. (Holistic Health Practitioner) in 1997. One of my teachers talked about how she had chosen to ingest her placenta with her 3rd child. At first I was a little shocked, but after listening to her reasons and researching the benefits I was sold! For a long time I wondered how many women wanted to try it and if there was an easier way to ingest the placenta other than just eating it.

Flash-forward to 2009 at my best friends sister’s baby shower. Tamlyn showed me the brochure for PBi and talked to me a little about it. As she was talking a light went off in my head! Finally after all these years someone figured out a way to bring placentophagia to the masses! I was so excited I went right home and applied to become a specialist.”

Thank you, Brandi, for your passion and dedication. We are very pleased to have you as part of PBi’s Network of Placenta Encapsulation Specialists.

Placenta Benefits.info (PBi) has the best training program and network of resources available for those seeking a career in natural postpartum care. Clients can trust PBi Specialists to provide the highest quality placenta encapsulation services available, and know that we will take care of them quickly, safely and professionally.

Dr. Daniel Benyshek is an Associate Professor of Anthropology at UNLV, and our Principal Investigator for the research we’re doing at UNLV. His main focus is Nutritional Anthropology and primarily does research on diabetes. However, from a nutritional anthropology perspective, placentophagy is definitely of interest to him. We met when I gave a presentation on placentophagy at UNLV, and have teamed up to get this important placenta research done.
Read more about Dr. Benyshek and his research, including our placentophagy project.

Dr. Deborah Keil, whose Curriculum Vitae can be read in PDF format here, is in Clinical Laboratory Sciences at UNLV. She is supporting the research through the use of her lab, and contributing valuable research experience in developing protocols for the actual testing of the placental extracts.

Sharon Young is one of Dr. Benyshek’s graduate students, whose main line of study is Biological Anthropology. She became interested in placentophagy from the first she heard of it, and has dedicated her graduate studies to its research.

Chandler Marrs is an expert on postpartum hormone research. We have been colleagues for the past several years, and she has been an invaluable resource as I write and speak about placentophagy and its potential affects on postpartum hormones. She continues to be involved in the research as a consultant and protocol development, and as an advisor.

I am fortunate to be involved with such wonderful experts in their fields, who are as fascinated by the placenta and its potential benefits for mothers as myself. Without their support and dedication, this research at UNLV would have never been undertaken. I look forward to our continued partnership as we delve into the placenta and its (hypothesized) efficacy.

I had the pleasure of meeting McKenzie Casad at the Midwifery Today conference in 2009. As a social worker and psychotherapist, specializing in mothers and infants, McKenzie cares a great deal about doing all she can to help mothers through the postpartum recovery period in optimum health. She is also a birth doula, so she has a chance to work with mothers in that capacity as well.

I became interested in placenta encapsulation after reading a moving article in Midwifery Today about a young mother’s struggle with Postpartum Depression after her first pregnancy and the benefits, and the relief she felt after her second when she encapsulated her placenta. My interest was peaked and I had to learn more especially with my experience in working with postpartum women struggling with fatigue and PPD. I immediately went online and started reading, and that is when I found the PBi website and learned about the benefits of placentophagia. I have been interested in placentophagia since and became even more excited after hearing Jodi speak at a Midwifery Today conference in Eugene, OR. I am amazed and excited about the possibilities of placenta encapsulation and am thrilled to be offering such a unique service to mothers during their postpartum recovery. Currently, I am encapsulating placentas in Northern Virginia and Washington D.C.

I am very pleased to have McKenzie in the PBi Network of Placenta Encapsulation Specialists. I know she will continue to serve women during this important life transition in her new role as a Placenta Encapsulation Specialist.

Thank you for your dedication to mothers and children, McKenzie! You are a wonderful asset to PBi, and to your community.

I am happy to introduce you to Megan Miles, who is now offering placenta encapsulation Services in Seattle and Everett, WA. Megan has been serving the birth community as a doula, childbirth educator and midwifery student since 2005.


Megan says:

I learned of the benefits of placenta encapsulation through a dear friend and colleague. After hearing the amazing stories of some clients who were using placenta medicine I knew that it was a service that was incredibly beneficial and needed in our area. I love the opportunity and structure of PBi and am thrilled to offer this service to women in my community. I see it as just one more way I can make a difference in the lives of women, families and babies. Changing the world, one birth at a time!

Placenta Benefits.info (PBi) has the best training program and network of resources available for those seeking a career in natural postpartum care. Clients can trust PBi Specialists to provide the highest quality placenta encapsulation services available, and know that we will take care of them quickly, safely and professionally.

Thank you, Megan, for being such a fabulous example of what being a PBi Specialist is all about!

We were pleased to get news coverage for Laura Fortin, our PBi Placenta Encapsulation Specialist, and Specialist Mentor, in Springfield, MA. Laura did a great job in the interview, please check it out.

They even highlighted the PBi website in the news coverage, which is fantastic. I love having such a great Network of professional Specialists who can relay the message about placenta’s benefits in such an articulate manner. This is why I started the Training Program, and Laura Fortin is a wonderful example of how beneficial it is to be fully trained.

We are definitely getting our message out around the country!

By the way, this news guy gives the best line about placenta I’ve heard yet:
“Find out what some women are chowing down, to keep their spirits up.”
Nice.

So this is either the season of love, or a corporate holiday created specifically to bilk sappy consumers out of some funds. I’m a cynic trapped in an idealist’s body, so I tend to go either way. Personally, I’m in the mood for a party with lots of friends and their kids running around.

But, if you’re planning to spend money on your honey, you might as well make sure it’s Fair Trade!

I wrote a blog post last year for Valentine’s Day, which gave some ideas for having a romantic evening IN with your partner, so check that out if you would like to get lovey without spending a lot of cash.

Have a fun weekend! I hear the Daytona 500 is happening on V-Day, so if your love is a fan, you might have some competition for their attention. Good luck, and much love!

I wanted to continue talking about our Chicago area Specialists. In addition to Julie Elliott, we also are pleased to introduce Erika Archer. She is a new PBi Placenta Encapsulation Specialist, and is ready to serve the NW Chicago suburbs. She is so excited to offer her services, that she is willing to travel to wherever mamas need services in the greater Chicago area.


Also in Chicago, but serving the South and SE suburbs, is Dona Grassity. Dona is a passionate supporter of postpartum women, and we are pleased to have her on our team. Working in the same area with Dona is Debbie Pocica. Both of these ladies are willing to travel into Indiana to provide services when necessary.


Rounding out PBi’s largest national team is Casey Gabel. Casey is the Specialist Mentor in the Chicago area, and has been working as a PBi Placenta Encapsulation Specialist for a year now.

Chicago mamas, you have lots of options for professional placenta encapsulation services. Please be sure to call on these ladies for help, support, or to answer your questions. They are a valuable asset to the Chicago area, and a great resource to birthing women.