Your Hospital Policies

Home Birth – EASY. Placenta is double bagged in Ziplocks and will stay in your fridge until pickup.

Birth Centers – A Family Affair, San Diego Community Birth Center, Best Start, Tourmaline, Birth Roots, Babies in Bloom – EASY. Sign out paperwork for mama only. Placenta is double bagged in Ziplocks and will stay with you or in their fridge until pickup.

Pomerado Hospital – Sometimes a mandatory 24 hr hold in your room, in your cooler. They will put in a small container that fits in your cooler and cover in ice. Must remain in your room for 24 hrs before they release it. Just be sure to add ice periodically as it melts. SOMETIMES you get a really cool Postpartum nurse who lets it sneak out early.

UCSD Hillcrest/Jacobs Center – Placenta usually to be picked up within 6 hours of delivery. Sign out paperwork for mama only. They will put it in your cooler and fill with ice. It does not leave the room and remains with you. The parking at Jacobs Center is hard so a doula, grandparent or friend brings placenta down to the roundabout at Jacobs Center once we arrive.

Sharp Hospitals – Placenta must be picked up within 6 hours of delivery. They will put it in your cooler and fill with ice. It does not leave the room and remains with you until the 6 hr mark and it must be picked up by then. IF IT NEEDS TO GO TO THE LAB – make sure they know it is for encapsulation and they will keep it sterile. It may be a few days for release so most parents opt for them to just take a small piece to examine in case of suspected infection. We will keep in the fridge until infection is ruled out – that ensures it’s sterile and not diced up etc. No sign out paperwork for us – just for the mama.

Scripps Hospitals – ALL require a negative Hep C test and will not release placenta without it. You must take this test and have the results back BEFORE birth. MERCY Hospital has required the hard copy of the results in the past so get that just to be safe if you are birthing there. Placenta must be picked up within 2 hours of delivery. This may be changing but right now it can be tricky, especially during rush hr traffic etc. or if we are teaching a class. They can release it to the partner and you can put it in your car until we arrive. It will be on ice so it will be fine. Sign out paperwork for whoever the placenta is released too.

Kaiser Hospital – EASY. No sign out paperwork except for mama. They will release right after birth and it stays in the room with you. SOMETIMES they have a small bucket and other times they wrap chux pads around this long rectangle container that will not fit in your cooler. I suggest bringing your own gallon size Ziplocks(2) so they can double bag and it will easily fit into your cooler and they can add the ice.

Balboa Hospital/Pendleton – EASY. No sign out paperwork except for mama. They will release right after birth and it stays in the room with you. They have buckets that are a little on the large size but will fit into a med size cooler or large cooler bag. It’s not hard to get on base for us either.