What size and type of cooler do we need, and why?

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.