Key Points
- Hormones play different roles during the body’s pregnancy and breastfeeding cycles
- Studies show that estrogen and progesterone have been found in processed placenta pills
- Hormones in the placenta are biologically known to suppress the hormones needed for milk synthesis
- Continued exposure to hormones in placenta pills may actively down-regulate prolactin receptors, decreasing long term milk supply
- Hormones in placenta are not needed to enhance lactation in a breastfeeding mom, and can even backfire
- Thromboembolism (blood clots) are a risk for postpartum women from placenta ingestion due to the estrogens

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The hormones of breastfeeding and how placenta pills interact with them
Click here to see the anatomy and physiology of breastfeeding