BIRTHFIT Podcast Episode 286: One Stress System: How Mom, Baby, and the Placenta Talk to Each Other

Mom and baby don't have two separate stress systems. They share one, with the placenta as the gatekeeper. Dr. Lindsey walks through how the placenta buffers mom's cortisol, the "placental clock" that helps set the timing of birth, and why chronic stress matters more than a hard day. Then she brings in midwife Robin Lim's Placenta: The Forgotten Chakra, along with her own take on cord timing and honoring the placenta as baby's guardian angel.

Sources:

• Togher KL et al. Epigenetics. 2014

• McLean M et al. Nat Med. 1995

• Sandman CA et al. Peptides. 2006

• ACOG Committee Opinion No. 814, 2020

• Lim R. Placenta: The Forgotten Chakra

 

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