What’s the placenta?
Have you heard Nicki Minaj's song "Super Freaky"? Well, Bria and I were recently talking about the placenta and all I can hear in my head is, "you can eat it, you can blend it, you can go ahead and freeze it..." I'm still working on it, but the point is you have options when it comes to your placenta! Let's take a look at the life of a placenta.
What is the placenta?
Honestly, the placenta is a fascinating organ both during pregnancy and afterwards. The placenta starts growing about 7-10 days after conception and takes over supporting your baby between 8-12 weeks pregnant. Since the placenta plays a large role in hormones, some research suggests that morning sickness is related to when the placenta fully takes over. Why? Because until then your body is taking on the role of supporting a growing baby and an organ, and that's a lot of work. The placenta also passes immunity to your baby.
The placenta has three layers:
The innermost layer surrounds your baby (amniotic sac)
The middle layer is where the blood vessels connect the placenta to umbilical cord
The chorion, the outermost layer connects to the pregnant person