Placenta Pills & GBS
It drives me absolutely bananas that when my clients test positive for Group B Strep, their care providers consistently give them inaccurate information. I swear, some docs believe they know everything. And even if they don’t believe that, they want us to.
It’s really twisted.
What is Group B Strep?
So first, let’s make sure we understand what Group B Strep (GBS) even is. It’s a naturally occurring bacteria that is commonly found in the gastrointestinal and genital tracts of humans and some other mammals. It’s estimated that 35-40% of adult humans carry GBS in their bodies. The tricky thing is that the levels of GBS bacteria fluctuate over time.
Testing for GBS During Pregnancy
Your provider will screen for GBS around week 36 of your pregnancy. They are looking to assess bacterial levels in the birth canal because if the levels of bacteria exceed a certain threshold, you’re considered “colonized.” If your baby travels through the birth canal when colonization is present, it’s possible that your baby could be infected with the bacteria. We don’t want to burden your newborn’s immatire immune system.
It's important to understand, though, that colonization means you are carrying the bacteria. It does not mean that you are actively infected.
If you test positive for GBS, you’ll be given a round of IV antibiotics during labor to prevent any possible transmission to your baby.
Testing & Treatment around the world
Here in the United States, we test everyone for GBS. However, many other nations utilize a risk-based approach. This means they administer antibiotics only when specific risk factors are present:
GBS is detected in your urine at any stage of your pregnancy
If there’s been a previous infant GBS infection
In cases of preterm labor, maternal fever during labor, or prolonged membrane rupture exceeding 18 hours.
It’s still safe to encapsulate!
Let me be very clear about this.
There is not a single documented case of a mother getting sick after taking placenta pills created from a “GBS placenta.”
No babies have developed health issues directly related to mom taking her placenta pills.
I work with countless care providers who do not bat an eye when mom tests positive for GBS and placs to take placenta pills.
I have safely processed hundreds of placentas after mom has tested positive for GBS, as have encapsulators all over the world.
But what about that one case?
If you Google “Is placenta encapsulation safe” you will likely find some info about a 2016 case where the baby of an Oregon mother who took placenta pills experienced two separate GBS infections.
The first infection manifested shortly after birth, while baby and mom were still in the hospital. Before mom had taken her placenta pills. The baby was treated with antibiotics and then sent home healthy.
Five days after discharge, the infant developed symptoms again and was diagnosed with late-onset GBS infection. Again, the baby was treated with antibiotics and fully recovered.
Case Details:
Mom did not test positive at her 37-week GBS screening.
Mom’s breast milk tested negative for GBS.
Mom’s placenta capsules did test positive for GBS.
Medical Expert Perspective
That being said, Dr. Genevieve Buser, the infectious disease/pediatric specialist who treated the infected infant and co-authored the CDC report, stated she "is not necessarily recommending against placenta encapsulation."
There are a few other ways that the bacteria could have been transferred to the baby:
Incomplete eradication of the initial infection after first antibiotic course
CDC documentation specifically noted that "transmission from other colonized family members could not be ruled out"
If even the treating physician doesn't advocate blanket prohibition of placenta consumption for GBS-positive mothers, why do some healthcare providers continue to do so? Are they possessing superior medical knowledge? If so, this information should be shared with the broader medical community. 😉
The 2016 Oregon incident is the only documented correlation between placenta encapsulation and infant illness. This represents an isolated case report, not a scientific study. There have been no similar incidents before or since.
As the scientific principle states: correlation does not equal causation.
Analyzing Transmission Possibilities
It just doesn’t make sense that the baby would be reinfected due to the placenta pills.
First, GBS bacteria would not survive the acid in mom’s stomach. And think about it, if mom’s breastmilk tested negative for GBS, how would mom have passed the bacteria to the baby? If there were sufficient GBS levels to infect her infant, breast milk testing would likely have been positive.
Additionally, GBS bacteria flourish in moist heat environments and cannot survive proper encapsulation processes. All placentas that I process are steamed gently before dehydration.
Whenever I process for a GBS-positive mom, I allow for additional steaming to make sure the internal temperature of the placenta reaches 165°F.
All placentas dehydrate at 165°F for approximately 12 hours until moisture-free (verified by snap test).
Should the 2016 case indeed be due to the consumption of placental capsules (which remains unproven), it would indicate that the perosn who processed this placenta did not follow industry-standard safety protocols.
Another thing to consider
If GBS can show up in breastmilk, why are mothers who test positive still encouraged to breastfeed? About 25-30% of mothers test positive for GBS. Many of them obviously go on breastfeed. If it were so easy to transmit GBS to baby, then why are we not seeing massive infections of infants? There are zero documented cases of transmission of GBS through breastfeeding.
Just like there are zero documented cases of transmission through placenta pills.
So why are we warning women not to take placenta pills when we continue to encourage them to breastfeed? It kinds feels like there might be some bias, judgement, and/or power-tripping going on here, to be honest.
In conclusion
I encourage you to trust your gut. Take all of the evidence into consideration and make the informed choice that feels right for you. That, my friend, is at the core of mothering. Tap into and trust to your instincts. You know what is best for you.
References
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4037808/https://www.marchofdimes.org/complications/group-b-strep-infection.aspxhttps://www.unlv.edu/news/article/study-maternal-placenta-consumption-causes-no-harm-newborns
About the Author
Tiff D’Amico is a certified placenta encapsulation specialist serving families throughout New Jersey, Philadelphia, and Delaware. She’s on a mission to keep more placentas out of the trash and instead turns placentas into pills for moms to take throughout their postpartum period to help boost their postpartum mood, energy, milk supply, and recovery.
Learn more about her services at www.theplacentagirl.com
