South Jersey Moms: Why Take Placenta Pills After Birth?

Your placenta is an incredible organ that plays a number of roles during your pregnancy… it makes sure your baby gets all the nutrients it needs while keeping the toxins away and it’s in charge of regulating your hormones.

If you’re an expecting mom in South or Central New Jersey or surrounding areas, you might be asking: Should I take placenta pills? Is placenta encapsulation safe? Can placenta capsules really help me with my postpartum recovery? 

Well, here’s my answer: in a society that treats postpartum recovery like a personal problem instead of a societal responsibility, the answer is a resounding “YES!”

What Are Placenta Pills?

Placenta encapsulation is the process of steaming, dehydrating, and grinding your placenta into capsules for consumption after birth. I’ve been the go-to certified placenta specialist in South Jersey since 2012. Obviously, with nearly 14 years of experience and over 1500 placentas processed, I can handle this safely, but the process is largely unregulated, which is a perfect example of how women are left to navigate the gaps in our healthcare system alone.

Placenta pills can be a powerful and natural way to combat postpartum fatigue, mood swings, and hormonal shifts. But what’s super frustrating to me is that the same system that makes moms feel like they need placenta pills in the first place is the same system that fails to provide paid leave, accessible mental health support, and affordable child care. And it’s the same system that trash talks the use of placenta pills in the first place.

Reported Benefits of Taking Placenta Pills

An overwhelming majority of moms who have utilized placenta encapsulation as a tool in their postpartum recovery kit report:

• Feeling more balanced hormonally

• Less baby blues

• Boosted energy, mood, and milk supply

• Feeling empowered and more like themselves

For some South Jersey moms, taking placenta pills is less about the physical benefits and more about taking a bit of control over their postpartum in a system that often strips it away.

What the Research Shows

Here’s a snapshot of studies and articles supporting the use of placenta pills:

• Human Maternal Placentophagy: Possible Benefit and Potential Risks – Jena University, 2018
  Main point: Shows that placenta consumption can be safe when processed correctly and may offer some maternal benefits.

• Maternal Placenta Consumption Causes No Harm to Newborns – ScienceDaily, May 2018
  Main point: Observational study found no adverse effects on newborns whose mothers consumed encapsulated placenta.

• Presence & Concentration of 17 Hormones in Human Placenta Processed for Encapsulation – UNLV, 2016
  Main point: Processed placenta retains measurable levels of hormones, which may support postpartum recovery.

• Placentophagy Survey: Self-Reported Motivations and Experiences – Selander et al., 2013
  Main point: Many moms report subjective benefits, including improved mood, energy, and postpartum well-being.

• Does Eating Placenta Offer Postpartum Benefits? – British Journal of Midwives, 2012
  Main point: While clinical evidence is limited, women report positive experiences and find the practice meaningful.

You can find links to each of these and more on the Research and Articles page on my website here.

How Placenta Pills “Work”

While pregnant, your placenta regulates hormones like progesterone, estrogen, and oxytocin during pregnancy. After birth, when your placenta detaches from the uterine wall, your hormones drop fast. 

Choosing to take them is not only a way to ease that transition, but it’s also a way to assert bodily autonomy (My Body, My Choice), make decisions outside the mainstream medical-industrial complex, and refuse to just follow whatever postpartum path society expects you to follow.  

Risks & Local Considerations

Placenta encapsulation, like anything, is not without its risks.

• Contamination: Make sure the placenta encapsulator you hire follows strict sanitation and processing guidelines. Some of the stuff I’ve seen online that people do with placentas gives me the ick, so it’s important to be sure your specialist is trained properly and understands what’s safe and what’s not.

• Unregulated industry: This demonstrates a larger societal problem: women’s postpartum needs are often treated as optional, which leaves moms to navigate potentially risky “DIY solutions” or trusting someone who isn’t qualified.

• Realistic expectations: You may notice a subtle difference, or nothing at all — and that’s fine. Some of our bodies do great postpartum without placenta pills. And there are certainly a ton of factors that go into a healthy and enjoyable postpartum experience. But some bodies really benefit from the extra support in the form of hormones, nutrients, and vitamins.

Tips for South Jersey Moms Considering Placenta Pills

1. Choose a certified local provider (preferably me, obvs😉)

2. Combine with systemic support: local postpartum support groups, lactation consultants, mental health resources

3. Use placenta pills as one tool, not a fix — it’s important to have a postpartum plan in place that includes a support team. You were not meant to do this alone.

The Takeaway

The decision to utilize placenta pills as part of your postpartum support plan is as much about agency and resistance as it is about physiology. In a world where moms are undervalued, over-medicalized, and often left to fend for ourselves, choosing to reclaim part of your postpartum experience is a powerful statement: you get to decide how to care for your body, not a corporation, a doctor, or a societal norm.

Planning, support, and community are the tools that matter most. Placenta pills can be a big part in your postpartum recovery, but real empowerment comes from building a postpartum life on your own terms.

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I’m Tiff, The Placenta Girl and I’m dedicated to helping new and expecting moms navigate the challenges of the fourth trimester with confidence and support. Curious about how placenta pills can support your recovery, energy, and overall postpartum experience? Click here to learn more and see how placenta encapsulation can help you feel stronger, calmer, and more prepared.