Many people have heard of women experiencing the “baby blues”, but many women also think it won’t happen to them. Women who experience “baby blues” may exhibit:
~Sudden mood swings
~Weepiness
~Increased irritability
~Impatience
~Sadness
~Loneliness
~Anxiousness and/or
~Restlessness
Those suffering with postpartum depression may exhibit the same symptoms to a higher degree and may also show symptoms of
~Anger
~Constant fatigue
~Extreme change of appetite
~Thoughts of suicide
~Disinterest in the Baby
& More
In reality, 80% of women experience some form of “baby blues”. Postpartum depression rates are also likely higher than statistics show, but many women do not seek help, so an accurate number is unknown.

Causes of “baby blues” and Postpartum depression can be linked to
~Rapid Hormonal Changes
~Fatigue and Sleep Deprivation
~Physical & Emotional Stress of Giving Birth

In the animal kingdom, nearly all mammals are known to consume their afterbirth – even herbivores. Some say this is simply to keep their nests clean and prevent the scent from bringing predators. If this were the case, then predators at the top of the food chain would not consume their placenta and non-nesting mammals would not consume their placenta. But they do! Even when the baby has long since been ready to walk, or run, from the birth site, mammals have often been observed taking their time and spending an hour or two consuming the placenta in the same birth site.

The placenta has long been used in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) in a number of healing remedies. The placenta is most reported to help
~Increase Energy
~Balance Hormones
~Enhance Milk Supply
~Quicken Postpartum Healing
~Shorten Postpartum Bleeding
~Bring Body Back into Balance
~Assist Uterus to Return to Pre-Pregnancy SIze
~Help Mother Feel Happier
~Help Mother get better sleep
~Replenish Iron, Minerals, & Vitamins
The placenta is truly amazing and can help to heal, strengthen, and sustain your body.

~Prolactin: Promotes lactation; increases milk supply; enhances the mothering instinct.
~Oxytocin: Decreases pain and increases bonding in mother and infant; counteracts the production of stress hormones such as Cortisol; greatly reduces postpartum bleeding; enhances the breastfeeding let-down reflex.
~Placental Opioid-Enhancing Factor (POEF): Stimulates the production of your body’s natural opioids, including endorphins; reduces pain; increases well-being.
~Prostaglandins: Regulates contractions in the uterus after birth; helps uterus return to its pre-pregnancy size.
~Estrogen, Progesterone, Testosterone: Contributes to mammary gland development in preparation for lactation; stabilizes postpartum mood; regulates post-birth uterine cramping.
~Thyroid Stimulating Hormone: Regulates the thyroid gland; boosts energy.
~Corticotropin Releasing Hormone (CRH): Regulation of CRH helps prevent depression.
~Cortisone: Reduces inflammation and swelling; promotes healing.
~Interferon: Triggers the protective defenses of the immune system to fight infection.
~Hemoglobin: Oxygen-carrying molecule which provides a boost in energy.
Urokinase Inhibiting Factor and Factor XIII: stops bleeding and enhances wound healing.
~Iron: Replenishes maternal iron stores to combat anemia. Increases energy; decreases fatigue and depression.
~Immunoglobulin G (IgG): Antibody molecules which support the immune system.
Human Placental Lactogen (hPL): This hormone has lactogenic and growth-promoting properties; promotes mammary gland growth in preparation for lactation in the mother. It also regulates maternal glucose, protein, and fat levels.

“Giving placenta to a new mother following birth has become standard protocol among a growing number of midwives in the United States. By nourishing the blood and fluids, endocrine glands and organs, Placenta will reduce or stop postpartum bleeding, speed up recovery, boost energy and relieve postpartum blues.” Homes, Peter. 1993. Jade Remedies, Snow Lotus Press, 352.

“Powdered Placenta Hominis was used for 57 cases of insufficient lactation. Within 4 days, 48 women had markedly increased milk production, with the remainder following suit over the next three days.” Bensky/Gamble. 1997. Materia Medica, Eastland Press, 549.

“The afterbirth was taken to increase the secretion of milk, which in all the women had failed without obvious cause after previous confinements. The treatment is said to have been successful after other methods of stimulating the milk secretion had failed. Madame Louise Toussaint, a French midwife, quoted by Cabanes in his Remedes d’autrefois (Paris, 1905), speaking of women in labour, says, “ Notwithstanding the disgusted protests which will come to the lips of many of you, O accoucheurs and midwives in reading me, give them, believe me, some fragments of their own placenta and you will tell me what happens. You will see how much you will in this way promote rapid recovery and with what abundance and rapidity the milk with come on. Do not forget that even in non-pregnant women and in virgins the milk secretion may be made to appear by simple placental feeding”. Cabanes tells us that at the fourth French Congress of Internal Medicine, held at Montpellier in April 1898, Dr. Iscovesco presented a communication on the therapeutic action of the placenta illustrated by more than a hundred cases of placenta tablets having a favourable effect on the secretion of milk..” The British Medical Journal, Vol. 1 No. 2928, February 10, 1917 page 203

“Daniel Benyshek, a UNLV medical anthropologist, and Sharon Young, a doctoral student of anthropology, asked 189 women who consumed their placentas after childbirth why they did it, how they preferred to have the placenta prepared, and if they would do it again. The results were published online Feb. 27, 2013 in the journal Ecology, Food and Nutrition. The survey found most women who participated in the practice, called placentophagy, were American, Caucasian, married, middle class, and college-educated and were more likely to give birth at home. Overall, 75% of participants said they had very positive experiences, 20% reported positive experiences and 4% were slightly positive. The most commonly reported negative aspect of placentophagy was the placenta’s appeal — the taste or smell of it was simply kind of icky. But most reported positive placentophagy experiences. “Our survey participants generally reported some type of perceived benefit from the practice, felt that their postpartum experience with placentophagy was a positive one, and overwhelmingly indicated that they would engage in placentophagy again after subsequent pregnancies. In fact, both of the [2] participants who selected negative or very negative to describe their placentophagy experience also indicated that they would engage in placentophagy again.” the authors write. According to the survey, the top three positive effects of placentophagy were improved mood, increased energy and improved lactation.” University of Nevada Las Vegas, February 2013

Placentophagy Papers, Reviews, & Studies: What They Really Mean
Uncovering the Truth About Bacteria & Heavy Metals in the Placenta