Celebrating the
Amazing Placenta 

Placentas go hand in hand with pregnancy! Even if you don’t know much about what this amazing organ does, you probably understand it plays a VITAL role for your baby. If you don't know, let me fill you in on the AMAZING Placenta...​

The placenta grows and develops alongside your baby – they’re basically ‘womb mates.’

But, do you know what a placenta actually does or just how amazing it really is???​

*When you first conceive, the swiftly multiplying cells form your baby and  your amazing placenta as early as 6-7 days after conception!

*The placenta is a disc-shaped organ formed in the uterus during pregnancy.

*By the time you give birth, it is roughly the size of a small dinner plate, about 2.5cm thick.

*It weighs approximately one-sixth of your baby’s weight!

*The placenta provides the oxygen and nutrients needed to keep your little one nourished throughout pregnancy.

*Maternal blood flows to the uterus and placenta, where the oxygen and nutrients are exchanged.

*Baby’s and mother’s blood don’t mix, because each has its own circulatory system.

*Amazingly, the umbilical cord carries the oxygen and nutrients from the placenta directly into the baby’s bloodstream.

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Pregnancy is an amazing process filled with miraculous detail.

The placenta is one part of this wondrous experience.

Keep reading below and keep doing your research & you will soon see it provides everything your baby needs, and can even provide for some of your postnatal needs too.

Let’s be sure we appreciate all of the incredible things this normally under-appreciated organ does!

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Fun Fact #1:

The placenta has a maternal and a fetal side. This amazing organ has two distinct surfaces. The maternal side is attached to the uterine wall. This is where nutrients are exchanged between the mother and the baby. The maternal side is dark red as it contains maternal blood. The fetal side is shiny and grey in color. It’s shiny because it’s covered by part of the amniotic sac. It’s also where the umbilical cord inserts, usually into the center of the placenta. From the cord, blood vessels branch off and insert deeply into the placental tissue to form the 'tree of life.’ It’s called this because the umbilical cord represents the ‘trunk’, and the blood vessels that branch out look like the roots of the tree – nourishing and sustaining the life within. Such a beautiful design by our Creator!

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FunFact #2:

The placenta acts as a gland. Have you ever wondered why you can feel incredibly hormonal and not yourself at one month into your pregnancy? After all, your baby is only the size of a poppy seed. How on earth can this little one already affect how you feel? During pregnancy the placenta acts as a gland to secrete important hormones necessary for your baby’s growth, as well as prepare your body for breastfeeding.

Some of the hormones are: Human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG). The pregnancy hormone hCG is detected when you pee on the stick and get a positive pregnancy test. It stimulates production of estrogen and progesterone and maintains the uterine lining until around 10-13 weeks, when the placenta takes over and starts to secrete those hormones. Estrogen. This hormone increases blood flow and stimulates uterine growth, both necessary to meet the needs of a growing baby. It also stimulates the growth of breast tissue in preparation for breastfeeding. Progesterone. It helps to maintain the uterine lining and support a healthy pregnancy. It also helps to keep a hospitable environment for your growing baby. Human placental lactogen. This is responsible for speeding up your metabolism. It also ensures more glucose is passed on to your baby; growing a baby takes a lot of energy. This hormone also helps your body prepare for breastfeeding. 

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Fun Fact #3:

The placenta delivers baby’s nutrition. However, the food you eat doesn’t go directly to your baby. When you eat, your body breaks the food down and the nutrient materials enter your bloodstream. During pregnancy, the nutrition in your bloodstream is passed, via the placenta and umbilical cord, into baby’s bloodstream. This is why it’s important for mothers-to-be to have a nutritious diet. Unfortunately, your baby won’t benefit from all of those bowls of ice-cream, wink wink. 

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Fun Fact #4:

The placenta works incredibly hard exchanging blood. Did you know mother’s blood and baby’s blood don’t mix? During every minute of your pregnancy, an entire pint (almost 500 ml) of blood is sent to the uterus to exchange nutrients via the placenta. Incredible! Even when you’re resting, your placenta is working hard. Another amazing design by our Creator! 

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Fun Fact #5:

The placenta ‘breathes’ for your baby. While your baby’s lungs are developing, your placenta provides 100% of his/her oxygen needs. In pregnancy babies don’t use their lungs, as their mother’s blood supply provides all the oxygen they need via the placenta and umbilical cord. Just as your body provides oxygen to all of your organs and tissues via the bloodstream, it also oxygenate your baby’s blood too. So when you breathe, you’re breathing for baby too! Even more of a reason to take nice, deep breaths. It seems there isn’t anything the placenta can’t do! This also ties in to how babies can be born into the water if you choose a water birth.

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Fun Fact #6:

When the placenta leaves, the milk starts. The placenta itself isn’t directly responsible for producing breast milk, but it does play a role. The placenta produces a hormone that suppresses milk production in pregnancy. Once it has separated from the uterine wall, it triggers the production of prolactin. Prolactin is the hormone responsible for milk production. How neat! 

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Fun Fact #7:

The placenta can become a supplement. Although the jury is still out in the Western birth world for some, many find Placenta Encapsulation very beneficial. Placenta Encapsulation is something many expectant mamas look into as an option, during the postnatal period, to help them through the transition. The practice of placentophagy (consuming the placenta) is on record as far back as the 1500s, in traditional Chinese medicine. I hope you will take time to keep learning more on your journey and decide if this is for you.