Traditional Chinese Medicine and lactation

By Danni Brewer In your opinion, does the scientific research back up the lactation principle of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) adequately? In other words, placenta is used in TCM to treat insufficient lactation issues. Based on this research, do you feel this is a justified use for placenta? The research discussed in the paper by Soykova-Pachnerova et al. provides evidence that there may be a link between the consumption of placenta and improvement in lactation. Therefore, the evidence provided supports the lactation principle of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TMC) adequately. The study involved 210 women who were given regular doses of a liquid which was manufactured out of placenta, over 4 days post birth. Out of the 210 women that were involved in the study 181 of the women went on to experience good or very good results which indicated there was considerable increase, both subjective and objective, in size and tenderness of the breasts and in secretion of milk (Pachnerova). During the study they tried to choose women for the experiment in whom bad nursing might be expected (Pachnerova). Despite intentionally choosing women that should have experienced lactation issues the study showed a drastic improvement in lactation, in a vast majority of participants. Based on this research I believe TCM is a justified use for placenta as it has proven to improve lactation, even in those women who were expected to have lactation issues.

Explain how you would summarize the benefits of placenta for breastfeeding to a client. Placentophagy has many potential benefits. One particular benefit is that it has a positive effect on lactation. In the study conducted my Soykova-Pachnerova et al. it confirmed that 86% of the participants had a positive result in relation to lactation. This proves that the consumption of the placenta will provide the mothers body with the benefit of lactation support and possible improvement in supply.

Also, a retained placenta often causes breastfeeding issues by limiting milk production. How would you explain how placenta is detrimental to milk production in one capacity, while being beneficial to milk production when used via the TCM method of encapsulation? If the mother experiences a retained placenta the body cannot establish that the pregnancy has ended. This can cause a delay in lactogenisis or more simply the creation of breastmilk. Once the placenta detaches from the uterine walls the body experiences a sudden drop in hormones which stimulates the production of abundant colostrum, followed by breastmilk around day 3. During this time the consumption of the placenta through means of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TMC) can prove very beneficial for the mother by supporting the postpartum hormones and positively influencing lactation.