I strive to be a good wife, momma, friend, and member of society, but acknowledge that I am not perfect and neither is the rest of the world. I try my best and remember to breathe deep along the way. My husband and I have been married since 2000 and he is everything I ever wanted in a partner. We are best friends and soul mates, which I know sounds all too clique, but if you know us you know it is true. Together we have two bambinas who make our family happily complete & keep us on our toes with their antics and unbridled creativity and humor. Outside of family, placenta encapsulation is my passion and I consider myself so lucky to be able to serve the local greater Sacramento, CA area community as ‘The Placenta Mom’.

What is your biggest strength as a mom? 

My biggest strength as a mom is my ability to be beyond open and honest with our girls. I remember struggling with navigating life growing up and wanted to ensure our girls felt they could come to us &/or ask us anything. Sure, sometimes it is uncomfortable or awkward, but giving them an age appropriate honest response always feels right to me and brings us closer as a family.

How do you love to spend your time away from your children?

When the stars align perfectly, the hubby and I enjoy a good concert or club night out. Before children we used to go out all the time, so we try to sneak music filled date nights in whenever possible.

After our oldest was born I developed severe postpartum depression. I was on multiple medications and participated in weekly therapy sessions for over a year. It was a long hard road to recovery, but with support and self determination I eventually recovered. When we found out I was pregnant again it was a total shock and the first thing both my husband and I feared was that I would develop PPD again. I immediately started doing my research and found placenta encapsulation. I knew this would be my answer to a more enjoyable and better adjusted postpartum period. In 2008, there was no one offering placenta encapsulation services in the greater Sacramento area, so I started training to learn enough to prepare my own placenta. When I felt the difference firsthand and could say that placenta capsules helped me have a more balanced postpartum period I knew I wanted to share the placenta love with other birthing women in our area. While balancing life with two littles I completed my training, got certified, and when our youngest was about six months old I felt confident enough to venture out and started PlacentaMom.com as the Sacramento area’s first placenta encapsulation specialist. Since that moment I have never looked back and am honored to be a member of the local birth community and a birth option in our area.

3. Do you often get negative reactions to what you do because it’s “out of the norm”?

I am the first person to admit that there is an “ick” factor and that placenta encapsulation is not for everyone, so negative reactions never have bothered me. As more and more moms, from all walks of life, openly share their experiences regarding placenta encapsulation the placenta love has grow and become both more mainstream and accepted. Over the years, I can definitely say that the strange looks have decreased. Also, I am used to getting lots and lots of questions surrounding what I do and am not bothered by them in the least. I warmly welcome any chance to share more about what I do with anyone interested. Grandpas are always super fun to chat with as they are usually horrified and intrigued all at the same time, but full of questions and surprising very open to learning about the process…usually with a lot of jokes thrown in.

4. What are the benefits/why would you recommend it?

Mothers who take placenta capsules report earlier and enhanced breast milk production, less postpartum bleeding, more energy, and a faster, more pleasant postpartum recovery. Placenta capsules may also reduce the incidence and severity of postpartum depression, and help new mothers to cope with stressful life transitions. Placenta encapsulation is about the balance and general well being for the new mother. My PlacentaMom clients really do call their placenta capsules their “happy pills” and I recently had a dad tell me that he would pay 10x the fee if necessary, because his wife did not encapsulate with their first child and they would never take on a postpartum period without placenta capsules again. They were already repeat clients and he said if they decide on baby #4 they would be contacting me again. It is really fun to work with clients following each of their births and seeing their families grow and continuing to hear how much they feel they benefited from their placenta capsules each time, sometimes in different ways. Which completely backs up how I always say that each pregnancy, birth, and baby is different and having placenta capsules as an insurance policy of sorts just makes sense.

5. On average how many clients do you work with a month?

I am helping moms have more balanced postpartum periods nearly every single day and have worked with around 2,000 clients since starting in 2009. I am truly honored to work with each and every PlacentaMom client & humbled that they invited me to be a part of their birth and postpartum plan.

6. Because you have had the honor of being a part of many mother’s journey into motherhood do you have any advice to share with other moms?

Embrace both the good and the bad times, ask for help, do not listen to the haters (do what works for you as a mom), and do not worry about getting everything off your gift registry (babies do not actually need that much & they grow fast).

7. What is your favorite part of what you do?

Well, it is cool to see a ton of amazing placentas, but it really is awesome when clients share photos with me of their little ones. Seeing the babes that make this all possible is definitely my favorite part.

8. Is there anything else you would recommend be a part of the pregnancy/birth?

I always, always ask… Is your placenta in your birth plan? (because it should be lol)