In my second post, I wrote about how exhausted and nauseous I was during the first trimester. There was a good reason for that: I was creating a whole 👏 new 👏 organ 👏. That’s right, I grew an organ. The placenta. I started learning more about this marvelous miracle organ when I read the first book I bought after finding out I was pregnant. I recommend it to anyone thinking about pregnancy: Like a Mother: A Feminist Journey Through the Science and Culture of Pregnancy by Angela Garbes. This book covers so many aspects of pregnancy, birth, and post birth. Garbes addresses cultural expectations on mothers-to-be/new moms and the science behind some of the “rules” around pregnancy. (No time for reading? Listen to her 30-minute interview with Terry Gross on NPR)
We often focus so much on the miracle of creating a human child during pregnancy that the placenta doesn’t get the accolade it deserves. This organ has a huge impact on fetal health, future health of the child throughout life, and the health of the mother during and beyond pregnancy.
Let me explain the placenta to you (as I understand it, this isn’t scientific):
The embryo latches into the uterine wall. It sends out cells into the mother’s body, disguised. The placenta cells tell the mother “I’m part of you. I’m a blood vessel cell. Honest.” The mother’s body believes it and welcomes the cell. The placenta cells then go about scrambling the mother’s body, instructing cells to move out of the way, kill themselves, or destroys them with digestive enzymes. The placenta plants itself in the uterine wall, creating over 34 miles of capillaries to access the blood source. While the blood of the mother and fetus never mix, the placenta does share cells of the fetus and its DNA with the mother. The DNA of the child will remain in the mother’s blood and organs for the rest of their life–even if the pregnancy ends in a tragic loss.
WHAT?
I know, it’s incredible.
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| Photo by Jannes Jacobs on Unsplash Like a tree, the placenta branches out into the mother. Giving life. |
This organ has the magical power to convince the mother’s body to lower it’s immune defense system so that it doesn’t attack the baby. The power to extract resources from the mother to provide nutrition to the growing child. At any given moment, 20% of my blood is flowing through the placenta. 20%!! The other fascinating fact, the placenta isn’t just my organ. It’s made up of 50% genetic material from the father. Thanks, Steve. (Am I growing his organ too? Shared organ?)
What else does the placenta do?, you ask.
- Supports gas exchange, helping baby get much needed oxygen
- Fights off pathogens and protects baby from illness
- Regulates the baby’s temperature
- Fight infections and build immunity
- Eliminates waste
- Does the work of the kidneys, heart, and lungs before they exist.
It’s a hard working organ. And my body was hard at work powering the little sucker. By the end of the first trimester, the placenta has mostly formed, though it continues to grow. It’s no wonder I was exhausted by 7pm each night, and taking long naps on the weekends. I’ve never been a good napper. Steve teases me when I’m lying down reading my phone, he jokes that I’m napping because that’s often what I end up doing if I try to nap. But when I was in my first trimester I could lie down and be out for an hour, no problem.
After giving birth to a child, at least if done vaginally, the mother also needs to birth the placenta. This is an organ up to 2lb in weight. Some mothers are lucky and it slides right out. Others continue to feel contractions and need to push again! And unfortunately the placenta can come with it’s own complications, including being too entrenched in the uterus. Removal requires careful surgery so as not to cause internal bleeding.
In Garbes’ book, she writes about a growing trend (mostly among affluent, white, married women) to consume the placenta after birth. There is no scientific evidence that this is in any way beneficial to the mother, or a breastmilk-fed baby. However, Garbes points out,“just because science hasn't proven something doesn't mean people don't know it.” While I did seriously considered it at first, and I am not a 100% no on the idea right now, I don’t think I want to consume the placenta. Just like I didn’t taste my own menstrual blood after reading Caitlin Moran’s How to be a Woman (originally, feminist author Germaine Greer pitched the suggestion in The Female Eunuch). I’ve heard that the process for turning it into something consumable (usually cooked, dehydrated, ground up and placed in pill capsules) can carry its own risks.
All I know is that I want to see the placenta. Yes, I’ve grown a human child, and will continue to see them grow into bigger child, adolescent, and then full blown adult human. But, I’ve also grown this fantastic organ that did so much work for my body and my baby. The placenta stops growing and begins to deteriorate after 34 weeks, it’s a disposable organ (even if you are going to eat it!). So, while I’m holding my baby for the first time (if my birth goes well enough, perhaps right away), I’ll ask someone to hold up the placenta for me. And my Mom, who has told me she will be taking photos of the birth throughout, will be instructed to get blog worthy picture. Yes, I’m going to show it to you too. (Side note, in the event of an unplanned cesarean section, I hope Mom can still get that photo!)
While we know all of this (and probably more!) about the placenta’s role in pregnancy, Garbes also touches on another focus of scientific study of the placenta: how it can be applied to organ transplants. When an organ is transplanted, the recipient has to take immunosuppressive drugs to prevent the body from rejecting it. If scientists can understand how the placenta convinces the mother’s body to accept itself and the fetus, we may be able to better understand how to prevent organ rejection in transplant patients. Cool, huh?! Additional research is also looking at how fetal cells are found in the mother’s organs and the role they play in helping injuries heal. Fascinating stuff.
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| Photo by Allie Smith on Unsplash This photo makes me think of me, Steve & the baby forever connected by the placenta. |
Think about the placenta that nourished you in the womb. Take a moment to put your hand on your belly button. This is the sole marker that survives through birth and ageing that connects you to your placenta. Here your umbilical cord, a twist of 1 vein and 2 arteries, transported nourishment from the placenta to you, and removed your waste products. This placenta helped grow you, helped build your immune system. Imagine your placenta and all that it gave to you.
And now, though it is extremely cheesy, but since I imagine my therapist would encourage it, I invite you to thank your placenta.
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