Building a Healthy Placenta for a Healthy Baby

What is the Placenta?

Throughout your pregnancy, your baby is being fed with nutrients and oxygen while his/her wastes are being carried away by the umbilical cord which is attached to the placenta.

“Among traditional midwives, the placenta is often called the ‘tree of life’ – one of God’s many miracles!”

The placenta is a round, semi-flat organ with two compartments – the fetal placenta which develops from the same blastocyst (group of cells which multiplied on their journey down the fallopian tube) that forms the fetus, and the maternal placenta which develops from the mother’s uterine tissue. In other words, when the blastocyst arrives in the uterus and finds the right place to implant – the blastocyst will form the baby’s side of the placenta and the mother’s uterine lining will form the mother’s side of the placenta. The baby’s side of the placenta is smooth while the mother’s side is rough. The placental thickness will continue to grow until about the 18th week of gestation. When fully developed, the placenta will cover 15 to 30% of the lining in the uterus. The mother’s blood stays on her side and the baby’s blood stays on his/her side while nutrients and wastes are passed through the placental barrier.

Poor Habits That Compromise Your Placenta

The placental barrier is designed to limit the kind and amount of materials which pass between mother and baby. However, it is not strong enough to keep out things like alcohol, drugs and tobacco. If a mother uses these substances, her baby is also being exposed and affected by them. For instance, if a mother smokes, it can cause the placenta to be compromised by an inadequate blood flow from a poorly expanded blood volume which can result in a poorly nourished baby.

Another example of poor habits could relate to antacids such as Tums. Many doctors recommend taking antacids to help with heartburn feeling they will benefit from the added calcium in these products. However, this calcium is not easily assimilated by the body, so if excess amounts are taken it can result in calcifications in the placenta. Poorly assimilated supplements, hard water and smoking may also lend themselves to calcifications. If you have extensive calcifications in the placenta it can lead to a fragile placenta which may break apart during detachment. It can also compromise the ability of the placenta to get nourishment to the baby.

“It is extremely important for a mother to actively make sure she is doing everything in her power to provide her growing baby with the building blocks he/she needs.”

Since the placenta is the medium for the exchange of these nutrients (building blocks) she also needs to help give the placenta what it needs to remain healthy and strong throughout the pregnancy. In a normal, well-nourished pregnancy, the blood volume steadily increases until 28 to 30 weeks and then remains fairly consistent until birth. The placenta contains about 150 ml. of blood which is replenished three to four times per minute by the mother. Recent research has shown that the health of the fetus and placenta are dependent upon the adequate bathing of the villi with maternal blood more than any other factor. Which means that restricted blood flow is the leading cause of placental insufficiency. According to Holistic Midwifery by Anne Frye, “Inadequate maternal nutrition, leading to an inadequately expanded blood volume and resulting in a poorly profused placenta is the leading cause of fetal and placental growth problems.” (747)

Build a Strong Placenta with Nutrition

We build ‘life with life’ so getting plenty of fresh, organic fruits and vegetables in our diet should be the first step toward a good diet. Protein is important in a healthy pregnancy and is found in abundance in fresh greens. Spirulina and Blue-green algae powders are also excellent sources of protein. Without healthy fats in the diet, fetal brain development is severely compromised. Fish, eggs, nuts and flax seeds contain these important fats.

Because of our polluted waters and the antibiotics which are used with farm-raised fish – we need to be careful with what types of fish we are consuming. Minamata, Japan, was affected by a mercury leak in the 1950’s. Scientists discovered that mercury caused a lot of neurological problems, cerebral palsy and other congenital defects in babies exposed to mercury. Unfortunately, much of the fish which is consumed today contains high levels of mercury, so it is important to check the sources on where your fish is coming from. The most recommended fish during pregnancy includes salmon, tilapia, shrimp, cod and catfish. Fish with some of the highest mercury levels are King Mackerel, Marlin, Orange Roughy, Shark, Swordfish, Tuna, Bluefish and Grouper.

Developing a healthy lifestyle which includes drinking lots of pure, clean water; exercise, such as going outside every day for a walk; avoiding processed sugars, fast food, processed foods, lunch meats and other processed meats; staying away from toxins such as nicotine, caffeine and alcohol will go a long way toward a healthy placenta and a healthy pregnancy.

According to Dr. Kliman in his article Behind Every Healthy Baby is a Healthy Placenta:

A healthy placenta is the single most important factor in producing a healthy baby. The placenta, which is in fact part of the fetus, is critical for all aspects of pregnancy from implantation to delivery. As early as three days after fertilization, the trophoblasts—the major cell type of the placenta—begin to make human chorionic gonadotropin, a hormone which insures that the endometrium will be receptive to the implanting embryo. Over the next few days, these same trophoblasts attach to and invade into the uterine lining, beginning the process of pregnancy. Over the next few weeks the placenta begins to make hormones which control the basic physiology of the mother in such a way that the fetus is supplied with the necessary nutrients and oxygen needed for successful growth. The placenta also protects the fetus from immune attack by the mother, removes waste products from the fetus, induces the mother to bring more blood to the placenta, and near the time of delivery, produces hormones that matures the fetal organs in preparation for life outside of the uterus. In many ways the placenta is the SCUBA system for the fetus while at the same time being the Houston Control Center guiding the mother through pregnancy.

The placenta is dedicated to the survival of the fetus. Even when exposed to a poor maternal environment — for example when the mother is malnourished, diseased, smokes or takes cocaine—the placenta can often compensate by becoming more efficient. Unfortunately, there are limits to the placenta’s ability to cope with external stresses. Eventually, if multiple or severe enough, these stresses can lead to placental damage, fetal damage and even intrauterine demise and pregnancy loss.

Just as the rings of a cut tree can tell the story of the tree’s life, so too the placenta can disclose the history of the pregnancy. In cases of poor pregnancy outcome, microscopic examination of the placenta often reveals the stresses that caused the fetal damage observed in an affected newborn. (www.medicine.yale.edu)

How Wheat Germ Oil Can Help Your Placenta

When I had my midwife practice, I found that women benefited significantly by taking 2 wheatgerm oil capsules morning and night. This helped their placenta in several ways:

The oil would get into the skin helping it to be soft, supple and less likely to tear.
It is extremely high in Vitamin E which is often referred to as the body’s glue. In fact, we discovered that in the last 6 weeks of pregnancy we needed to lower the dosage to 1 capsule morning and night so the placenta would be ready to let go after the birth. When they stayed on the full dosage of 2 capsules – quite often the placenta would not want to let go for a couple of hours after the birth.
It also provides crucial vitamins and minerals
Helps to keep hormones balanced

How Much Does the Placenta Weigh?

In order to have a healthy pregnancy, a mother needs to put on a certain amount of weight. This is definitely not a time to be restricting calories or trying to lose weight. Where do the extra pounds go? On average, if a woman gains between 25 and 35 pounds, with 2-3 pounds being the placenta! This is how the weight is distributed:

Baby, 6-8 pounds
Placenta, 2-3 pounds
Amniotic fluid, 2-3 pounds
Breast tissue, 1-3 pounds
Blood volume, 3-4 pounds
Increase in uterine size, 2-5 pounds
Fat stores (for delivery and breast feeding), remainder of weight

This will equal 15 to 35 pounds. These pounds are necessary for proper development of each of these vital components.

Toward the end of your pregnancy, the placenta will release antibodies to help protect the baby from disease outside of the womb. A newborn has a very immature immune system, so this release of antibodies is crucial in helping to protect the baby against viruses and bacteria.

After your baby is born, you will experience some mild contractions which will help to expel the placenta from the uterus. Nursing your baby will help with this process along with helping the uterus to shrink back down to its normal size.

Final Thoughts

All in all, the health of your placenta is extremely important to having a safe and successful pregnancy. After all, it’s main mission is to protect your baby by keeping harmful substances out and allowing nourishment in. Do your part to support your body and baby by adopting a healthy lifestyle and avoiding poor habits that compromise this amazing organ.