“My Lactation Consultant Said to Wait Before Taking My Placenta Pills.” Wait, WHAT?!
If you’ve been told to hold off on taking your placenta capsules because they might interfere with milk production, you’ve been given inaccurate advice. And that advice undermines the very reason you invested in placenta encapsulation in the first place.
Here’s why this idea doesn’t hold up:
When you’re pregnant, your placenta does the heavy lifting of regulating your hormones. Once you give birth, your hypothalamus is supposed to take over—but it takes a few weeks to get the memo. That leaves you with a postpartum hormone hangover that can make the early days feel like an emotional rollercoaster.
This is where your placenta pills come in. They help bridge the gap during those first crazy weeks and give your body time to recalibrate without sending your hormones into free fall. That’s why I make a point to deliver placenta capsules to moms in South Jersey (and beyond) within just a few days of birth—so your hormones never have a chance to spiral.
But let’s get back to the milk supply question.
The claim that placenta pills hurt breastfeeding stems from a blog post written by a lactation consultant a few years ago. Her observations were based on personal experience with clients struggling with milk supply. The key word here? Struggling. She’s seeing a small, specific group of people, which skews the data.
In contrast, I’ve encapsulated nearly 1,500 placentas, and most of my clients report the opposite: an increase in milk supply compared to previous breastfeeding experiences. And many of those clients are lactation consultants themselves.
The act of the placenta detaching from the uterine wall is what signals your body to start producing milk.
Taking placenta capsules doesn’t cancel that signal. In fact, they can actually enhance milk production. Here’s how:
Prolactin: Promotes lactation and boosts milk supply.
Oxytocin: Helps you relax, bond with your baby, and spend more time skin-to-skin (a proven milk production booster).
Human Placental Lactogen (HPL): Supports milk production and makes your milk more nutrient-dense.
And like Judy Schneider, South Jersey’s OG IBCLC, points out — most mammals eat their placentas—and humans are the only ones who seem to struggle with milk production. Coincidence? Maybe. But the hormonal benefits of placenta ingestion are hard to ignore.
On a personal note, I’ve been on both sides of the breastfeeding struggle. My first baby was a slow gainer, and I barely felt like I was producing milk. No placenta encapsulation for me that time, but with Judy’s help, I ended up nursing him for almost four years.
Then came baby number two. I encapsulated his placenta, and the difference was like night and day. Let’s just say my nickname for this baby was “Chubber-Chubbers.”
If you’re a South Jersey mom considering placenta encapsulation, don’t let biased advice keep you from the benefits. While there is a very small minority of women who report issues with milk supply, it’s hard to pinpoint exactly what was going on since there are so many factors at play. The risks are low, and the reported benefits are plenty, so it’s definitely worth considering as part of your postpartum plan.
Curious about how placenta pills can be part of your postpartum recovery plan? Start by assessing your risk for postpartum anxiety and see how they might help ease your transition into motherhood. Take the free assessment here.
