Guest Blog with a Placenta and Postpartum Support Specialist
Hello Practically Perfect Friends!
Today we are going to have a guest blog checking in with us. Her name is Tiff D’Amico, who is a Placenta and Postpartum Support Specialist. When Tiff reached out, I was so happy to be able to offer the Practically Perfect audience a new, holistic approach to the postpartum period.
I had my baby 10 years ago. I am the first to say that the services, support, and opportunities for pregnancy, labor, delivery, and postpartum care were a lot less. I know that compared to prior generations, that was even more true. I remember the first time I saw a Nose Frida and was like, “Son of a batch of cookies, where was that when I needed it!?” Tiff offers some really awesome perspective to the child-bearing years. As families with small children, we are usually very much under supported, overworked, and in desperate need of the right community.
I love so much of what Tiff talks about below, not just about the placenta and how it can benefit a birthing parent physically and emotionally, but also the building of a village and the preparation for parenting, with more than just baby showers, cute nurseries, and gender reveals. I LOVE that she is training with the Gottman Institute. “And Baby Makes Three” by John and Julie Gottman is always on my recommended reading list for those who are expecting. Keeping the light “on” and the connection strong in a marriage is HUGE in the transition from a couple to a family.
Please enjoy this guest blog and what she has to say.
My name is Tiff D’Amico and I have been a practicing placenta specialist since 2012. I am certified through IPPA (International Placenta and Postpartum Association). I also hold my New Jersey Food Handlers card, and a certificate in bloodborne pathogens training, developed by OSHA specifically for doulas and placenta encapsulation specialists. I am also a licensed educator, activist, and a postpartum strategist.
I began my career in birth work in 2009 as a childbirth educator. Soon after that, I began practicing as a birth doula. But in 2012, a doula client asked me to process her placenta for her, so I dug in, figured it out, and got to work. Since then, I have processed over 1,000 placentas for families throughout New Jersey, Eastern PA, and Delaware.
Placenta encapsulation is not new, and although many women who take their placenta pills are not comfortable shouting it from the rooftops (yet), it is becoming more and more popular as an additional tool in the postpartum toolboxes.
Why would anyone consume their own placenta?
There are many reasons women opt to take placenta pills, but the majority of my clients find me because they are looking for ways to avoid the baby blues and other perinatal mood disturbances and disorders, such as postpartum anxiety and postpartum depression. Research has not quite been able to prove it yet, but an overwhelming number of women credit their placenta pills for a smooth and easeful postpartum.
I look at it like an insurance policy. We hope that you won’t need your pills, but it sure is nice to have them if you do. I recently surveyed my client pool and over 80% of my previous clients reported a balanced mood as the number one benefit they experienced.
And it makes sense.
During pregnancy the placenta is responsible for the production and regulation of mood altering hormones, such as estrogen and progesterone, but in our regular non-pregnant bodies, the hypothalamus does that. So after we give birth and the placenta is born, it takes a few weeks for the hypothalamus to realize it needs to get back on the job. In those few weeks, those hormones are running rampant and they are, quite literally, out of control. Which is why in the first weeks postpartum, we notice symptoms of the baby blues, such as crying for no reason and mood swings.
This being said, it is important to hire a placenta specialist who has been trained properly. There are obvious safety concerns, as well as certain signs to look for in mom that only an experienced professional would know to keep an eye out for. In addition to a balanced mood, many moms report increased milk supply, less postpartum bleeding, fitting into their pre-pregnancy clothes faster, little to no postpartum hair loss, and increased energy. I have been doing this work for a long time and I would be disingenuous if I said that placenta pills are enough.
What women really need during the early postpartum is more support.
They need a more holistic model of care; one that includes things like pelvic floor therapy, chiropractic care, mental health support, etc. Unfortunately, we live in a world in which we have our babies and typically retreat into our homes and try to learn how to parent alone and behind closed doors, often with only the help of Dr. Google and judgemental social media groups. There is no village. And although our partners WANT to support us, they often do not understand what that even means, because likely it wasn’t modeled for them in their own homes growing up.
Because of this, and because of my passion for supporting and empowering new moms, I have recently made some additions to my support options. I now offer postpartum planning and support – to be clear, this isn’t about support in the form of how to swaddle your baby or anything like that. What I’m offering is preparation for the postpartum experience in the form of building a strong postpartum plan and support team. I help new parents work together to develop systems within their home that will support them as they build their family.
Because of the abysmal parental leave policies in the US, the secondary parent, usually the father, needs to go back to work within days of baby’s arrival. And then, by default, the primary parent, usually mom, ends up taking on the full mental and emotional load that comes along with household management and family-building. And of course, many moms also need to go back to work outside of the home, sometimes as soon as two weeks.
And it just becomes too much.
The results come in the form of a skyrocketing divorce rate, increasing diagnosis of perinatal mood disorders, and many parents barely able to keep their heads above water. In addition to offering placenta encapsulation services, I am now working with parents to develop a solid postpartum plan, and then I stay with them through calls, emails, and texts as they begin their parenting journey together. In this way, they are better able to establish the framework needed to parent as a team in a way that feels fair and equitable to each of them. And in a way in which no one feels like they’re drowning.
Unfortunately, so many people invest so much money and time into building their baby’s nursery, planning for the baby shower, and hosting extravagant gender reveal parties – the investment financially in these things is incredible. Yet when you talk to parents and ask them, “Do you have a doula? Have you taken a lactation course? A Birth prep class? Have you hired a house cleaner, signed up for a meal delivery service, etc? Do you have a therapist? Have you made an appointment with a pelvic floor therapist? The typical response is, “No, that’s all so expensive.”
Priorities need to be set on the mental health of parents. If it is not going to benefit you in that way, you can probably do without it for the most part. Because what babies really need is parents who are mentally and physically healthy. Babies and kids need parents who can show them how to be in healthy and loving relationships. They do not need stuff.
I am currently wrapping up my Bringing Baby Home Educator training through the Gottman Institute and in March, I will be a fully certified Fairplay facilitator. I plan to utilize these systems to help parents build the solid foundations they will need as they build a life together. Too often, you’ll hear parents say that they stayed together for the kids. But what they really needed to do, before things went downhill, was make a plan together for the kids…prepare together for the kids.
If you’d like to learn more about placenta encapsulation and/or strategies you can utilize in order to OWN your postpartum, visit my website www.karmabirthservices.com. Let me help you and your partner prepare for a life together, from the very start.
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I want to take a moment again to thank Tiff for her education and insight for the Practically Perfect community. There are so many providers in our community and we hope you find some so you feel prepared for the pregnancy, labor, delivery and post partum period of your family’s life.
This is a friendly reminder that Practically Perfect Physical Therapy offers a variety of services for parents and their children including prenatal care, birthing education, postpartum care and educational/ support classes for parents and their tiny humans. Visit practicallyperfectpt.com and check out our events.
Wishing you a Practically Perfect day and holiday season!
Perfectly Yours,
Dr. Mo
Practically Perfect Class Descriptions
Virtual and In Person Options: Preparing for Your Birth Story
An informative, interactive workshop designed to help expecting parents to prepare for the labor, delivery and the postpartum period for upcoming babies at their own pace.
- Pelvic Anatomy 101
- Perineal Massage
- Signs and Stages of Labor
- What to Expect when Arriving to Deliver
- Labor Activities and Positions
- Comfort Measures
- Possible Complications
- Hospital Bag Prep
- Postpartum Care
- Perinatal Feelings
In person version is held at Zen Landing Wellness Center: Located at 44 Taylor Ave.,Mays Landing, NJ 08330
Virtual: Baby’s Practically Perfect First Year
A “learn as you go” class to help you assess baby’s milestones and progress them with developmental play and intentional positioning.
- Intro/ Goals
- Vision
- Reflexes
- Fine Motor Skills
- Speech
- Baby’s Head
- Gross Motor Skills
- Purposeful Play
- Notes from a Therapist
Baby and Me Clubhouse: BUILD YOUR VILLAGE! Meet other new parents and participate in guided developmental play. STARTING IN JAN – Class will meet on the 4th Tuesday of each month at 5pm. Location: Practically Perfect Physical Therapy, 311 South New York Road, Galloway, NJ, 08205.
Tummy Time and More: Focus on tummy time and progressing to more skills such as sitting and rolling! STARTING IN JAN – Class will meet on the 1st Wednesday of each month at 10:15am. Location: Practically Perfect Physical Therapy, 311 South New York Road, Galloway, NJ, 08205.
Creepers and Crawlers: For “Tummy Time” graduates OR any littles who need to work on skills like sitting, rolling, creeping and crawling! STARTING IN JAN – Class will meet on the 2rd Wednesday of each month at 10:15am. Location: Practically Perfect Physical Therapy, 311 South New York Road, Galloway, NJ, 08205.
Tiny Toddler Team: A play group for cruisers and new toddlers to work on their gross motor play skills and socialize with new friends! STARTING IN JAN – Class will meet on the 3rd Wednesday of each month at 10:15am. Location: Practically Perfect Physical Therapy, 311 South New York Road, Galloway, NJ, 08205.
“Baby and Me Workout” Ages: newborn to one year
Description: Join Dr. Mora Pluchino, a physical therapist who specializes in pelvic health and pediatrics, for an exercise class using your baby as part of your work out! This will be low impact, pelvic floor friendly and a wonderful way to work out, meet other parents and bond with your baby! All caregivers are welcome to participate with their infants, age newborn to one year old! Bring your own baby and a towel/ yoga mat. This is non refundable or transferable. Location: Funatics Fitness 626 S New York Rd, Galloway, NJ 08205
Building Blocks Cores and Floors
Held once a month by Pelvic Floor Therapist, Dr. Mora Pluchino. (Practically Perfect PT) Located at 44 Taylor Ave., Mays Landing, NJ 08330. Join this specialized class to learn strength, coordination & stretches focusing on building your core & pelvic floor function! Great for ANYONE with a pelvic floor – all abilities welcome!
