With a new baby on the way, you might feel like your budget is already tight and may find yourself asking, 'How much is placenta encapsulation?' or 'Why does placenta encapsulation cost that much?'.
Having your placenta encapsulated is not cheap but can I be honest with you- you wouldn't want it to be. Your specialist needs to be qualified, well versed in food safety and blood borne pathogens and using the correct equipment and materials. There ARE ways to make it more affordable and to avoid unnecessary add-on fees which we'll go into in the next blog.
Qualifications & Ongoing Training
It goes without saying that it's not a job that you'd entrust to your next door neighbour to carry out. (I actually have encapsulated for my next door neighbour but her neighbour was obviously qualified!)
There are two main bodies in the UK who provide placenta encapsulation training and your specialist can supply you with their qualifications and training credentials upon request. Qualified specialists continue their learning and complete training at regular intervals with regards to HACCP (Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points relating to Food Safety) and Blood-borne Pathogens to ensure that knowledge is up to date regarding the handling of the placenta from its birth to delivering the capsules.
Our training gives us the skills to understand when it is and when it is not safe to encapsulate and this informs our booking forms, our paperwork and our communication with you.
Being a member of the Placenta Remedies Network also connects your specialist to a network of qualified specialists with whom they can share information, keep up to date on the latest research and offer support.
Specialist Equipment
Encapsulation calls for some unique equipment that you don't tend to find in your average kitchen. It also calls for more single use equipment than the average trade. We only use the highest quality medical-grade disinfectant. This means that you can have confidence in our work.
Processes
Every process related to the preparation of the placenta is set out in a rigorous document- our Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point document. This hefty document was initially created by the Placenta Remedies Network & The International Placenta Encapsulation Network in conjunction with Environmental Health and covers each and every control we have in place to ensure your safety. It covers the storage of the placenta, the paperwork you're given, the various temperature checks which happen
throughout the process, the disinfectants used, the cleaning processes and much much more.
If your specialist is registered with their local council, Environmental Health review this document with them on a regular basis and inspect their premises.
Insurance
It isn't sexy but it is peace of mind. Ditto waste management- this is outsourced to comply with Environmental Health standards.
The on-call life
I love the unpredictable nature of this job- you never know when a baby will be born and I wouldn't want it any other way but it does require dedication. Often plans need to be dropped at the last minute because when a placenta is here it needs to be collected and processed quickly. Babies arrive when they arrive and it is all part of the service. There are no 'tiers' of service levels regarding collections- everyone gets the same top service.
We keep our service radius quite small so that we provide a personal service- one point of contact throughout the whole process from booking to delivery. We don't go further afield for extra money as we don't want to compromise on service and we work closely with the other specialists locally and know and trust that they can also provide a top service to you if you are out of our area.
In summary
Hopefully this gives you a little insight into the cost of placenta encapsulation. It's a process with some high costs involved, none of which can be scrimped on. All processes are designed (in conjunction with other authorities) with you at the heart of it. If you ever have any questions about the way that we do things - feel free to ask!
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