FAQs

Hospitals have different policies regarding placenta release. Many local hospitals have simple procedures for obtaining your placenta. LifeTree Placenta will counsel you on your specific hospital and guide you to secure your placenta safely and smoothly.

You can choose the location where your placenta is processed. It can be processed in our dedicated spaces, in your home, or in the home of one of your family members. Nearly all of our clients have chosen to have it processed in the dedicated work-space. There are many reasons why they have chosen not to have it encapsulated in their own home. We can discuss in detail all the options and any concerns when services are set up.

To ensure the client’s safety and to guarantee they are receiving capsules made with their placenta only one placenta is processed at a time.

Nikole has been providing professional, safe, convenient placenta services since 2010 and has processed over 1500 placentas.  You can read more about her experience under the Bio tab.

You can call once labor has started to give a heads-up but this is not a must. Do let LifeTree Placenta know once you have the placenta ready by sending a simple text message or phone call to 908-875-8076 and we can arrange pick up. Please do not send an email to notify when your ready for pick up, email may be reviewed only once per day.

If you give birth at night pick up will occur the following day unless other arrangements have been made. You can still call or text to notify of the birth, the call may or may not be answered, you can leave a message and someone will reach out to first thing in the morning to arrange pick up.

Your placenta is safest when it is kept in room with you and remains within your sight. You will store the placenta in a cooler packed well with ice until pick up. This assures that the placenta is indeed your placenta, it’s being stored at the proper temperature, and it’s not being contaminated in any way deeming it unsafe to consume. Many clients find that the soft sided insulated lunch sized coolers are sufficient when the placenta is double bagged. These are also easy to fold/squish into your hospital bag so it’s one less thing to remember on the way out the door to the hospital. The placenta when bagged is about the size of a softball. The cooler size required will be dependent on the size of the container the hospital places the placenta in. You can bring your own gallon sized freezer bags and request the placenta be placed into them double bagged. You can choose to use any cooler you have available. The cooler does not need to be disposable and will be returned to you.

Many placentas can be encapsulated once frozen depending on a few factors. These include when it was frozen, how it was stored, how long it has been frozen, and if it has ever thawed. Please contact LifeTree Placenta to discuss the possibility.

Yes! Delaying the clamping and cutting of your baby’s umbilical cord after the birth is good for your baby, good for you, and good for your placenta.

Most mothers have epidurals and many mothers have c-sections. There are no known or reported issues with encapsulating after either of these procedures.

Many women have chosen to encapsulate while taking medications without issues. Please contact LifeTree Placenta to discuss the medication and any possible contraindications it may have.

Yes, you can certainly bank the cord blood and/or cord tissue and still encapsulate. A few cord blood banks now include an option to send the placenta as well but there have yet to be any issues clients have faced with their request to the cord banking facility to keep the placenta.

We have worked with many Jewish clients that keep kosher.  It has been said that because the placenta is altered in its form and placed into capsules it is not viewed as a food.  Such as taking a calcium supplement that contains oyster shells.  Rabbi Dovid Kornreich in 2010 stated it’s permitted by Jewish law and you can read his written statements here.  If you are Jewish and are interested in having your placenta encapsulated you can speak with your Rabbi about any concerns or special steps to take.

Antibodies are only made if the blood mixes in the bloodstream. Ingestion in itself does not give access to the bloodstream. Typically, a RH- mother sucking the bleeding finger of her RH+ child is not a concern.  There is theory by researcher Mark Krystal that placentophagia may actually be nature’s version of a Rhogam injection, giving reason as to why other animals do not face similar issues.

We are sorry for your loss.  There are ways to honor the placenta and/or create keepsakes from the placenta and umbilical cord.  Some mothers find the process of creating these keepsakes to be healing.  You can find ideas and step by step instructions here.

There have been many past news articles and fear based media articles circulating.  Nikole wrote a thoughtful article discussing these concerns and you can view it here.

This topic has been a topic of many recent news stories following a report published by the CDC.  You can view Nikole’s formal response and her thoughts here.

Yes, your package includes professionally labeled bottles and an information card for suggested uses. We will discuss this information together as well to help assure your understanding and provide an opportunity to ask questions in person. Consultations are also available for questions to all clients after services are complete.

Payment in full is due when you receive your capsules with consideration for special circumstances. Cash, checks made out to LifeTree Services, and debit/credit cards are all accepted. HSA/FSA card payments are now also accepted, you may need to gain pre-approval. Past clients have also created payment plans that worked for them and some have bartered goods or services. Deposits are not required, we have found clients that choose to utilize this service to be very genuine in nature and most of the reasons clients have not followed through with using this service have been out of their control.

We mainly work in Northern and Central New Jersey. Travel to South Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania is available upon request or for special circumstances. If you live outside our normal service area please feel free to contact LifeTree Placenta to connect you with a trusted provider in your area.

Lots! Here is a list of some of the common locations our clients have birthed at : Morristown Medical, Valley Hospital, Hackensack University Medical Center, St Barnabas Hospital, Overlook Hospital, Hunterdon Medical, Englewood Hospital, Pascack Valley Hospital, Holy Name Hospital, Jersey City Medical Center, St Joseph’s Hospital, Robert Wood Johnson Hospital, St Peters University Hospital, JFK Medical Center, Monmouth Medical Center, Chilton Hospital, Richmond University Hospital, Good Samaritan Hospital, Staten Island University Hospital, Riverview Medical Center, Jersey Shore Medical Center, Somerset Medical Center, Princeton Hospital, Palisades Medical Center, St Claires Hospital, Mountainside Hospital, and more.

All known allergies should be discussed with your Placenta Services Provider to make sure none of the supplies or processing methods include any items you may react to.  The equipment used for encapsulation is fully dedicated to the processing of placenta and do not come in contact with any food.  Note: during TCM the steaming pot does come in contact with lemon, ginger and hot pepper but not the placenta.  The space used for processing is pet free and smoke free.  A separate dedicated refrigerator is used to store your placenta or finished placenta items that require refrigeration. To see a full list of equipment and supplies used click here and scroll to the bottom of the page.

When possible disposables are used and discarded of after each client.  The remaining equipment is sterilized in accordance to OSHA requirements for equipment and surfaces that may have come in contact with bloodborne pathogens or other potentially infectious material.  In short : The items/surfaces are first rinsed, then washed with food safe soap, then thoroughly rinsed again. The items/surfaces are then sterilized using 8.25% sodium hypochlorite bleach.   The items/surfaces are then washed again to remove the sterilizing agent and then allowed to air dry in accordance with OSHA’s recommendations.  This process is much more in depth than stated here, if you would like more information on this process contact LifeTree Placenta.  Note: to-date 5.25% sodium hypochlorite bleach is the only chemical sterilizing agent to be found 100% effective in destroying known bloodborne pathogens.  A widely used EPA approved hospital cleaning agent was shown to only have a 94% efficacy against HCV.  Nikole advises all those seeking Placenta Services to ask their provider about their sanitation/sterilization procedures.

Yes! LifeTree Services is a registered Limited Liability Company (LLC) and has a Federal Employee Identification Number (EIN).