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Park Slope Brooklyn’s Garden Acupuncture Shares Research – Just The Facts About Postpartum Women Eating Their Placenta. What Does The Research Really Show?
— C.P.
BROOKLYN, NY, USA, November 22, 2023 /EINPresswire.com/ — We will share a study for the consumption of maternal placenta in humans and nonhuman mammals. For the full link of the research see below:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7765311/
Placentophagia is the ingestion of the placenta and afterbirth components released during and after parturition (after birth). The maternal behavior is widespread in mammalians and takes place in nonhuman primates too. It can occur between related and unrelated female primates and female and male weanling siblings in rats and hamsters. There are reports of human placentophagia in North America where women consume their placenta, whether raw, cooked, dehydrated, processed, or encapsulated, assuming potential health benefits for mothers and their offspring. However, there are also possible detrimental health risks associated with placental consumption in women. There is no scientific research regarding the beneficial effects of human placentophagia, and available information is mostly hearsay. We discuss the cause-effect of placentophagy and the endocrine, nutritional, and analgesic proposed benefits and adverse effects of this practice that have been published in humans and nonhuman mammals.
[The consumption of placenta has been widely documented in the animal kingdom for mammals and nonhuman primates. In the United States it is slowly growing more traction. The research below will show the available data and share any positive and negative effects.]
The placenta is a complex, temporal, and dynamic organ that performs various synthetic, secretory, filtering, analytical, and transport functions [1]. Placental tissue derives from trophoblasts, which develop from the same blastocyst as the embryo [2]. In mammals, it is the organ through which gases, nutrients, and respiratory wastes are exchanged between mother and fetus [3]. It has immunological importance facilitating embryonic and fetal development, as well as embryo survival. Furthermore, it contains stem cells that can be used for medical purposes, such as allografts [2,4].
https://medicine.yale.edu/obgyn/kliman/placenta/research/
https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg25934481-000-placenta-the-overlooked-organ-with-a-lifelong-impact-on-your-health/
[The placenta is a well-studied organ shown to have immune support to facilitate embryo and fetal development and survival. The placenta has also been shown to have contain stem cells, which has medical benefits such as tissue transplant.]
One of the causes of placentophagia may be related to the ingestion of hormones by females since the placenta contains hormones such as oxytocin, estrogens, progesterone, adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH), Releasing Factor Corticotropin [29], chorionic gonadotropin, hypothalamic releasing hormones (GnRH), placental lactogen, placental opioid enhancing factor (POEF), relaxin, and inhibin [30,31]. In females, the estrogens or similar sex hormones play a significant role in implanting the embryo and the development of the mammary gland. For its part, the amniotic fluid, contains hormones such as oxytocin, prostaglandins, androgens, renin, progesterone, corticosteroids, chorionic gonadotrophin, and placental lactogen [32]. It also has antibacterial activity and nutritional factors [32]. All these substances benefit the dam during the transition from pregnancy to the postpartum state and increase milk production.
[Studies completed on the placenta and amniotic fluid show vast arrays of hormones such as: oxytocin, estrogens, progesterone, and many others. During pregnancy these hormones help the development of the baby as well as the mother’s mammary glands. This helps with antibacterial and nutritional factors, which improve the changeover period for the mother from pregnancy to postpartum to allow for more mild production.]
Hammett and McNeile [20] were the first to publish that in humans, after postpartum ingestion of a dehydrated product derived from the placenta, an increase in protein and lactose was observed in breast milk. A subsequent study observed an increased growth rate in those children from mothers that ingested desiccated placenta capsules [33]. In the 1950s, Soyková-Pachnerová [34] confirmed the placenta’s capacity as a stimulator of lactation due to the hormone placental lactogen’s presence, among other components. Similarly, when cows can ingest the placenta and amniotic fluid, there is a marked increase in milk production [15].
[The first study completed showed that postpartum ingestion of the dehydrated placenta had an increase in protein and lactose in the breast milk with a measurable growth rate in those children. Subsequent studies confirmed the placenta’s ability to simulate lactation.]
The oxytocin present in the amniotic fluid and the placenta suggests that its ingestion may facilitate uterine contractility. Together with prostaglandins, it favors the cervix’s opening during the dilation process [32], allowing labor, delivery of the placenta, the cleaning of the uterus, and faster uterine involution. All this is assuming its absorption through the digestive tract and its action on maternal biology.
[While the oxytocin suggests that it may improve the mothers’ ability to contract her uterus back to pre-pregnancy.]
Other benefits for the consumption of the placenta show improvement in pain reduction, nutritional benefits (high levels of protein and nutrients). Although it is important to note that bacterial or viral infections of the mother could be passed down to the child if the placenta is not prepared correctly or the mother has high levels of heavy metals in her body.
Placenta Has Been Used as a Chinese Herb for Thousands of Years
It is well documented and common practice in Chinese Medicine to prescribe placenta for post-partum recovery. For over 2000 years, prepared, dried placenta, Zi He Che has been used as a post-partum tonic. It tonifies Qi, Blood, Yin, Yang and Jing – all important aspects of health which are depleted after giving birth. The goal of this tonifying is to improve milk production, decrease depression, increase mood and energy, aid the body in the healing process, and help balance hormones. While more research is needed, there was one promising study that showed an increase in milk production in 86% of participants. Other research has shown an increase in the bond between mother and offspring in non-human animals such as dogs, sheep, rabbit and monkeys.
At Brooklyn’s Garden Acupuncture we advocate for our patients’ best interest. Luckily, being in an urban space there are many providers that are knowledgeable of how to prepare and ingest the dried placenta correctly. At Garden Acupuncture many of the patients’ have found great success with a decrease in postpartum depression, improve sleep, less fatigue, and greater milk availability for their babies.
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