.png)
Yes I know, that a lot of people including birth workers are passionate about using placental pills as a way to help postpartum recovery.
And I know that many of you are not going to agree with my opinion on this. But it is my opinion based on my knowledge as a birth worker and as a former microbiologist with a Masters in Science.
SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE
At present there just isn’t enough evidence that placenta pills are beneficial.
A review of studies performed suggests that “Placebo-controlled studies of placental capsules have not shown significant effects on hormonal levels, milk production, and weight gain in the newborn. “
There is also concern that the encapsulation process may actually destroy the heat sensitive hormones in the placenta.
I know many women report a beneficial effect comparing 2 postpartum experiences with and without placenta pills.
But this can happen anyway. I had one fantastic postpartum experience and one terrible one. I didn’t take pills in either case.
There is concern about the risks around encapsulation process.
There has been one documented case where a newborn baby got Strep B from contaminated placenta pills
There is also risks around contamination with heavy metals, viruses including HIV and anesthetic residues.
Personally I would also be worried about prions which are proteins which cause diseases like Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (aka "mad cows disease").
I know that people who make placenta pills have sterilization protocols in place.
But prions are very difficult to remove as I know from my previous work as a microbiologist in the medical device industry. And as these diseases don't show up for years and sometimes decades later it an be difficult to know if sterilization processes are adequate. I am just not sure that some placenta pill producers have sterilisation processes in place which do remove prions.
SOCIETAL EXPECTATIONS
My other concern around these pills is that it feeds into the societal expectation that we should "bounce back" from birth asap. And if you didn’t before in your previous postpartum then this pill is the solution.
But our hormones are meant to fluctuate after birth. We are meant to rest, to eat good food, to be nurtured and supported. And yes if we don’t get this support and nurturing during our postpartum period then the result is often postnatal anxiety/depression, poor milk supply, exhaustion etc.
But in my opinion the answer is not a placenta pill.
The answer is that we as a society need to lower expectations of new mums while also providing the support they need in order to thrive in motherhood.
As I stated above this is just my opinion. Do your research and decide what is right for you.
If you would like the link to the research I have quoted it is listed below.
And as always feel free to get in touch if you have any questions
x Emma
Kommentare