DIY Placenta Tincture by Jennifer Leigh Mayer

My placenta went home with me for baby #2 and baby #3 to encapsulate my placenta (a.k.a. "happy pills"). I started running really low with baby #3's happy pills and a friend suggested that I make a tincture that I could use if I ran out of pills and also for hormone balancing during menopause (1-3 capsules full in 8 oz. grain alcohol). Jennifer Leigh Mayer, a Placenta Alchemist with Mama Moon NYC and Brooklyn Placenta Services has shared her recipe for making your own placenta tincture.  Thanks Jennifer for this great placenta tincture tutorial!

DIY Placenta Tincture

DIY tinctures are a wonderful remedy for mothers to use during the postpartum period. Many mothers use the tincture during times of transition such as teething, weaning, change in caregiver or even travel. They are easeful to prepare, all you need is 7-10 drops of tincture in a bit of water. The effect is a gently uplifting emotional support.

This step-by-step guide will teach you everything you need to know about making a DIY Placenta Tincture after the birth of your baby. Good luck!

First thing is first: gather your supplies

To make the tincture you’ll need:

• A clean glass jar- preferably tinted and not clear (I use an 8oz glass blue bottle)
• A small tinted glass dropper bottle
• A good quality grain alcohol such as vodka
• Paper towels, chux pad or other water proof counter cover
• Disposable gloves
• A small knife
• A spray bottle
• Bleach
• A clean work space
• The placenta 

Preparation:

1. Wash your hands carefully. Clean your designated workspace and put down a chux pad or waterproof cover. Make a stack of paper towels to put the placenta on. Take the placenta out of the fridge and place on the paper towels, the baby side with the umbilical cord facing down.
2. Get your tincture bottle ready by filling the larger bottle with grain alcohol up to the shoulder of the bottle. Keep the cap off for now.
3. Push aside the membranes and wipe clean the mother’s side of the placenta. There might be some blood clots present.
4. Find a healthy looking, robust area of the placenta and trim off a piece the size of a thumbnail.
5. Place the thumbnail size piece of placenta into the prepared tincture bottle. Wait until you take your gloves off to put the cap on.
6. Return the placenta to it’s container.
7. Clean up your workstation, throwing out the paper towel and chux pad. Wash the knife with warm soap water.
8. Place a cap on the placenta tincture and a label on the bottles. Date the bottle and give the tincture a name.
9. For professional use: Make a 10% bleach solution in the spray bottle. Spray down your counters with the bleach solution. After the knife is washed, spray the knife with bleach solution too.
10. Let the placenta sit for six weeks in a cool dry place. After six weeks decant the placenta tincture from the original bottle into the dropper bottle. You can now use your tincture as needed!

Jennifer Leigh Mayer is the founder and owner of Mama Moon NYC and Brooklyn Placenta Services in New York City. She is a Licensed Massage Therapist, Professional Birth Doula, Certified Holistic Health Counselor and Placenta Alchemist.

Jennifer is unique in her approach to working with her clients, her philosophy is to support and guide her clients down their unique path of health and wellness. She recognizes that this journey of health and healing as continuous and evolving.

Jennifer graduated Magna Cum Laude from the University of Colorado at Boulder, her work has been featured in New York Magazine, Anderson Cooper’s day time talk show and Flaunt Magazine. She is currently working on her first book, The Placenta Book, about the practice and history of placenta encapsulation.