Here's a reply I got back from a midwife I collaborate with. She prepares
placenta medicine and when I asked her about our progesterone concerns
here's her reply for what it is worth:

" It probably depends quite a bit on how the placenta is prepared.  The way
that I was trained (through the PlacentaBenefits.info site, in the method of
Traditional Chinese Medicine) includes steaming the placenta so that it is
fully cooked before dehydrating it.  In the process of steaming, I would
imagine that most hormones are destroyed by the heat.  If the placenta is
dehydrated from a raw state, it may have completely different properties.

TCM uses placenta specifically for boosting milk supply, not for depression.
As you probably well know, TCM looks at health as an issue of balance, and
the placenta has properties that are especially helpful at restoring
hot/cold yin/yang balance to the mother's body, and it is believed that this
imbalance and effects of childbirth on certain organs (which placenta is
thought to nourish) is what contributes to low milk supply.  It's a whole
different way of looking at health and well-being than our Western model,
and it can be challenging to try to reconcile the two!

I believe that Jodi Selander of PlacentaBenefits.info has worked with some
researchers at UNLV to do some before & after testing to see what still
remains in the placenta after running it through the encapsulation process.
My understanding is that her research has been submitted for publication and
should hopefully be out soon.  She shared some information with her
specialists through a webcast, but I haven't had an opportunity to sit down
and listen to it.  I need to do that!  I will let you know if there's
anything in it that would address your question more directly."


Melissa Cole, IBCLC
www.lunalactation.com

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