The practice of eating placenta, known as placentophagy, has been growing in popularity in recent years. Celebrities such as Kourtney Kardashian have posted pictures of their placenta pills on social media, thus inspiring more women to believe that eating placenta has true health benefits. Other women have raved that after eating their newborns’ placenta, whether dried, raw, or cooked, they felt that breast milk production was easier and their post-postpartum mood improved.
The placenta supports a fetus during pregnancy. It delivers both food and oxygen to the baby and takes away toxins and waste. Animals, such as goats, routinely eat their placenta after giving birth in order to absorb its high levels of protein and hide the evidence of childbirth from predators in the wild. Dried human placenta has been used by humans for centuries in Traditional Chinese Medicine. Practitioners add it to pills with deer antlers and donkey skin and brew it into soup. The medicine functions to help new mothers increase lactation and soothe many other afflictions, such as pulmonary diseases and dermatological disorders.
However, this renewed spike in interest for placenta has researchers worried. A recent study from Northeastern University concluded that placentophagy did not show significant health benefits for women.
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Mothers should be more aware of the placenta’s true health benefits before making the decision to partake in placentophagy. Some argue that placenta has significant nutritional value because it was the vital factor in supporting growth of the fetus in the mother. However, the placenta not only transports nutrients to the baby, but it also transports waste from the baby. These wastes have not been biologically proven to be safe for the mother. Supporters of placentophagy also argue that it is safe since animals in the wild often eat their placenta for nutritional value. However, humans already have vast access to various other forms of nutrition, and the risks may outweigh the benefits, especially considering that the nutritional equivalent to placenta could theoretically be gained from any meal high in protein and fat.
If you want access to your placenta, whether for cultural or health reasons, be sure to talk to your physician about your decision. It is important to remember that effective treatments vary for each person, and although celebrities may endorse eating placenta, this postpartum therapy may not be the best choice for everyone.
Feature Image Source: Toni Blay
