24/01/2025
This is why I don’t recommend consuming the placenta ❤️
This has come up again and again in the last few months, so here is another rant 😉
Placenta consumption and milk supply:
I've been asked to share my thoughts on the links between placenta encapsulation (or just placenta consumption in any way) and milk supply, as the last few years has seen a large increase in the number of women who are looking into the benefits of consuming their own placenta. I've written briefly about this before, but it's time for a decent explanation.
I used to be really supportive of this idea. Now I'm not. My logic? There is an increasing trend towards more and more cases of unexplained low supply, and other professionals I have spoken with about this have begun to notice a connection between the possibility of low supply, and placenta consumption. And as I started to learn more and more about the intricacies of the hormones of breastfeeding and of pregnancy, this connection would completely make sense.
Get ready for your daily episode of I Told You Hormones were Fascinating!
The placenta releases a number of hormones, including progesterone and oestrogen. The release of the placenta after birth causes a huge drop in progesterone, which is the trigger that is required for milk production. This drop in progesterone causes a rise in prolactin, the hormone of milk production, and around three days later (average!), milk arrives. One of the first things that is checked with unexplained low milk supply is whether there are any fragments of placenta retained in the mum's uterus, which could have stopped that large drop in progesterone from occurring.
Oestrogen is another big hormone involved in pregnancy, is released by the placenta, and is also well-known to dramatically lower milk supply (hence why breastfeeding mothers are never advised to take any contraception with oestrogen). If a breastfeeding mama becomes pregnant, it's well-known that her milk will drastically decrease at a certain point due to the hormones being released by the placenta.
Of all of the hormones present in the placenta, progesterone and oestrogen are the only ones that are still present after the encapsulation process (though some women will consume it in different ways, this is the most common).
So. You give birth, your placenta is released, you have a huge shift in these hormones and milk production goes haywire. Yay! That's the plan! But what happens then when women start ingesting their placenta? Women are now reintroducing progesterone and oestrogen into their bodies; the exact hormones that the body needs to expel in order for milk production to establish.
From what I know, there are no studies exploring this. But I do know that there is a reason our placentas are expelled, we do understand about the shift in hormones, we do know there is an increasing number of women who are consuming placenta in one way or another, and we do know that there are many lactation consultants worldwide that are beginning to anecdotally notice the connection between this and their clients with unexplained low supply. So as much as I would suggest women stay away from all forms of hormonal contraception while breastfeeding if they want to ensure their supply is maintained, I certainly wouldn't be messing with eating my own placenta.
And in the interest of full disclosure, I did eat my placenta (cubed, frozen, swallowed like a tablet each morning), and I had chronic low supply, and I don’t truly know the cause still… though of course I have many theories 😉
