Postpartum Depression: The New Mother Epidemic

So, what is the main goal of placenta consumption? Most new mothers will tell you that their primary reason for seeking placenta medicine services is to help prevent postpartum depression.

Postpartum depression is classified as depressive symptoms during the postnatal period. Mothers often report feeling unable to bond with their baby, excessive crying, mood swings, and irritability, among many other variations. There is not just one reason a mother might experience postpartum depression, rather, there is a series of events that take place in the brain that can lead to feeling depressed after having a baby. It can happen to anybody. Serena Williams publicly spoke about her ongoing feelings of depression after the birth of her baby girl, and many other celebrities have been forthcoming about their experiences postnatally, as well.

The common link in the onset of postpartum depression is the massive crash in hormones after the placenta is delivered. Pregnancy pumps a woman full of estrogen, progesterone, and oxytocin. All of these hormones decrease dramatically after childbirth. Some women are able to cope with the withdrawal smoothly, while others do not respond well at all, for a multitude of reasons.

There are currently ongoing trials to test the safety and efficacy of a neurosteroid treatment to help boost progesterone levels in the body, thus combating the withdrawal symptoms thought to be postpartum depression symptoms.

So, if the answer to treating postpartum depression is to help the body increase hormone levels, why aren't more people being advised to eat their placenta? The placenta acts as a secondary endocrine organ in the body, and it produces progesterone and estrogen to help maintain a healthy pregnancy. After delivery, the placenta still contains these hormones, and can be transferred back into the mother through oral consumption. This could be one reason that mothers who have tried placenta medicine are convinced that it helps to ward off postpartum depression.

Unfortunately, with both postpartum depression and placentophagy being quite taboo subjects, researchers have not yet fully dove into either topic to produce real, tangible answers and solutions for new mothers.