Can eating papaya cause abortion?

Papaya is known to be a type of potent emmenagogue. You should not disregard papaya just yet because while there are some women who would need to avoid it during pregnancy, some say that they have received some benefits from it too.

It is the unripe papaya that should be avoided during pregnancy as it may cause different complications. It may cause uterine contractions that may abort the baby. Those who do not know that they are pregnant may have a miscarriage because of eating papaya.

This can also weaken the fetus in general, which means that it will have a difficult time to survive. Eating papaya during the third trimester is also not recommended, as this may cause premature contractions.

Eating one or two slices of papaya a day is less likely to lead to an abortion. In fact, it is healthy and nutritious for the mother and growing fetus. However, eating too much of unripe or semi ripe papaya is known to cause excessive body heat and trigger menstrual bleeding. Unripe papaya contains an enzyme called papain; it also contains high level of latex.

Papain suppresses the production of progesterone. The endometrium needs progesterone to grow; low level of progesterone will slow the growth of endometrium, which is essential for the growing fetus. Latex triggers uterine contraction by inducing the release of prostaglandins and oxytocin which can cause abortion in pregnancy.
Ripe papaya is free of papain and when eaten in moderation it is not harmful for pregnant women.