Latest mom trend: eating placenta. There are several proposed benefits to saving your placenta, drying it out, and consuming it daily. However, nobody ever tells you that it can lead to every mother’s nightmare. Eating placenta can have an extremely negative affect on your milk supply.

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Eating Placenta Sabotages Milk Supply

There. I said it. It’s a strong statement that many crunchy mamas may not agree with after enjoying the full-blown placebo benefits of consuming their placenta. Although many people claim placenta consumption boosts their milk supply, there is no solid evidence supporting it. In fact, there is strong evidence supporting the opposite.

Studies show that eating the placenta is strongly connected to a low milk supply.

(See list of resources)

Humans Don’t Need to Eat the Placenta Like Other Mammals Do

After the baby is born, the body immediately expels out the placenta: FOR A REASON. Nature is genius, and interfering with the natural process of childbirth is unwise. Now, here comes the argument:

“But almost all other mammals consume their placenta after giving birth!”

(common argument in support of human placenta consumption)

True.

But researchers explain two main reasons animals do this:

1. To hide from predators
   
   – Savage meat-eating animals can immediately pick up the scent of fresh blood and a decomposing organ. Because of this, the mama must devour the placenta right away to keep her baby safe from predators.
   
   
2. To reduce pain
   
   – There are pain relieving components within the amniotic fluid and placenta. Animals ingest this right after birth, and often just from licking the newborn, cleaning them off. So, these organs are not saved for months on end like humans do. Also, animals eat their placenta totally raw. You don’t see us humans doing that, do you? FOR A REASON.

The argument that “most other mammals eat their placentas, humans should too” is simply not applicable.

Human lives are not in danger after giving birth, and humans are not eating the raw organs. Also, mammals are not freeze-drying and encapsulating their placentas to eat for months on end. The bottom line is, humans and other mammals are simply not comparable in this scenario.

Eating Placenta Disrupts Normal Postpartum Hormones

First things first:

1. Pregnancy hormones are necessary during pregnancy.
   
2. Postpartum hormones are necessary during the postpartum period.

The placenta serves a beautiful purpose during pregnancy. It releases specific hormones that have specific functions to provide the best environment for a developing baby. After giving birth, and expelling the placenta, the mother’s body is shifted into a postpartum state where a different set of hormones are released. Postpartum hormones are responsible for milk production.

Here’s a simplified explanation of how eating the placenta disrupts the normal levels of hormones after baby is born.

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Progesterone, Estrogen and Prolactin

Progesterone and Estrogen are the most dominant pregnancy hormones, and they are both found in the placenta. These pregnancy hormones block the hormone Prolactin from doing its job; the job of Prolactin is to create milk.

When the placenta is expelled after giving birth, the woman experiences a rapid drop in Progesterone and Estrogen levels. This is a hormonal trigger that signals the body to produce Prolactin. Prolactin is responsible for milk production.

Retained Placenta

If any part of the placenta is not expelled after childbirth, it is a dangerous medical condition called a retained placenta. When left untreated, a retained placenta can cause life-threatening complications for the mother. Surgery is required to remove the retained placenta. The fact is, pregnancy hormones within the retained placenta (progesterone and estrogen) block the production of prolactin, causing a low milk supply.

If a retained placenta causes low milk supply due to the pregnancy hormones still present in a postpartum body, then why would you reintroduce those same pregnancy hormones into your body if they block milk production?

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Conclusion

When you eat your placenta, you are reintroducing pregnancy hormones into your body, and this will negatively impact your milk supply.

Resources

1. Alex Farr, MD, PhDcorrespondenceEmail the author MD, PhD Alex Farr, Frank A. Chervenak, MD, Laurence B. McCullough, PhD, Rebecca N. Baergen, MD, Amos Grünebaum, MDhttps://www.ajog.org/article/S0002-9378(17)30963-8/fulltext#articleInformation
2. Medical University of Vienna. “Dangerous trend: The placenta is not suitable as a ‘superfood’.” ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 12 October 2017. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/10/171012091322.htm>
3. Selander, Jodi et al. “Human maternal placentophagy: a survey of self-reported motivations and experiences associated with placenta consumption.” Ecology of food and nutrition vol. 52,2 (2013): 93-115. doi:10.1080/03670244.2012.719356
4. Young, Sharon M et al. “Human placenta processed for encapsulation contains modest concentrations of 14 trace minerals and elements.” Nutrition research (New York, N.Y.) vol. 36,8 (2016): 872-8. doi:10.1016/j.nutres.2016.04.005
5. https://americanpregnancy.org/healthy-pregnancy/first-year-of-life/placental-encapsulation-9070/
6. https://icea.org/placental-encapsulation-friend-or-foe-of-postpartum-mothers/
7. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/537fb379e4b0fe1778d0f178/t/59b9b176a803bb401f2d9889/1505341814834/Health+Implications+to+Consider+with+Placenta+for+Consumption%2C+Researched_update.pdf
8. https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2019/12/27/791556565/opinion-placenta-eating-went-mainstream-when-many-doctors-stopped-listening
9. https://placentarisks.org/milk-supply/how-placenta-ingestion-lowers-milk-supply/
10. https://www.happygoatproductions.com/blog/2017/9/6/a-lactation-consultants-perspective-on-placenta-encapsulation