Covid-19 and Placenta Encapsulation

With Covid-19 here the world has seen many updates to the way even the simplist things work. This includes placenta Encapsulation. Studies out of China and Germany are showing that there is NOT vertical transmission from mother to baby before birth. The CDC agrees that it is not passing through the placenta for mothers who have contracted Covid-19.
What does all of this mean for moms in the north DFW area that want placenta Encapsulation? You can still get your placenta encapsulated! We have placed a few new protocols in place to keep everyone safe!

  • We still pick up placentas, but we will not be entering hospitals to do so. If you are birthing at a hospital, you can still encapsulate! I will just arrange pick up from your partner in the hospital parking lot (which many families opted for pre Covid-19!). Many hospitals are restricting who can enter the hospital, this is for our protection and to meet the new Coronavirus protocols of local labor and delivery units. It is so important that we stay Coronavirus free so we can continue serving other pregnant and postpartum moms.

  • Instead of transferring your placenta from your cooler to mine, we now ask that you provide a disposable styrofoam cooler. These will be single-use and disposed of (and not returned to you).This applies to both hospital and birth center placenta pickups.

  • We already used all of the OSHA recommended Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for encapsulation and used the safest processes. However, we will now use it outside of the specific encapsulation process, and use gloves and masks any time we are touching the bottles or boxes you are receiving your finished products in. You can rest assured know everything you are receiving is safe and clean!

As far as the very remote possibility that your placenta has Covid-19 on it from you or someone else at your birth. Covid-19 is susceptible to heat. There are recommended methods for cleaning N-95 masks for reuse for healthcare providers in our current shortages. These studies show killing the virus at 149 degrees F. I am already processing placentas at 160 degrees F as a safety precaution for killing any potential Group Beta Strep colonization on the placenta. So in short, you’re covered!

I hope that in this time of unease, this has put at least these concerns to rest! I look forward to serving you for a happy and healthy postpartum!


Shade Tree Midwifery (formerly Rebekah Lewis Birth Services) provides midwifery services for home births in the North Central Texas area including Denton, Gainesville, Krum, Aubrey, Flower Mound, Highland Village, North Fort Worth, Keller, Decatur, Wichita Falls, Sherman, and surrounding areas. We have office locations in Denton TX and Gainesville TX.

Shade Tree Midwifery proudly owns and operates North Texas Placenta Services offering placenta encapsulation in North DFW.