A recent USA TODAY article is bringing attention to a practice called placentophagy, in which the mother ingests her own placenta following birth. While some cook the placenta and eat it, others prefer to grind up the dried placenta and put it in capsules.
Proponents of the practice claim that it prevents postpartum depression, lessens bleeding by helping the uterus shrink back to normal more quickly and increases milk production. Supporters of the practice often point out that many other mammals eat their own placentas and that placenta ingestion is a part of traditional Chinese medicine as well.
Western practitioners, on the other hand, aren't so sure. The FDA has raised concerns that suppliers of the placental capsules are making medical claims that aren't backed up by research. Various experts interviewed by USA TODAY also expressed doubts that placenta ingestion provided the claimed benefits for mothers.
Some mothers are finding that hospitals will not release their placenta to them, citing concerns about the placenta being medical waste and potentially unsafe. There is good news for women who want to try eating their placenta, however. In a recent court case, in which a woman sued the hospital in order to get her placenta, the court ruled in her favor.
Personally, I don't think I could get past the yuk factor and eat a cooked placenta, but I might consider taking it in capsule form if I knew it was safe and effective. I do find it intriguing that other mammals would have the instinct to eat it though. Maybe they instinctively know something we have forgotten? What's your opinion? Share in the comment section below.
Look to nature as a guide. If higher order mammals (apes, chimps) do it, then we can probably guess that we forgot that we’d ought to do it as well.
I would consider doing so if the relevant safety procedures are in place. I am sure placenta contains many hormones and antibodies to protect both mother and baby. Why if we consider putting poison such as Botulin (Botox) into our bodies and other chemical drugs not part of our own body. It seems natural to me and women should not be so quick to condemn what could be a potentially life saving practice.
I knew a professor who kept his children’s placentas in the freezer and would slice off a slither every now and then and consume it. I think the effect of eating it was somewhere similiar to taking HGH. I do agree it should be allowed.
Yuk its disgusting there is no medical basis for eating the placenta. Animals also eat the bowel movements of their young and their vomit…any takers?
Thinking about it the reason female animals eat the produce of their young is so predators cannot track them so no doubt that is why they eat the placenta.
Hmmmm…eating a cooked placenta??? Would that not destroy the largest part of the nutritive value? Keeping the children’s placentas so you could have a slice every now and again….
Animals eating the placenta to remove the trail sounds like as much sense as eating it for the nutritive factor.
It makes “sense” to me that this could have health benefits, but the yuck factor is too high for me. Although, the point about all the chemical things we put into our bodies is a very good point.
Bottom line for me: nature is best and following what naturally occurs with other mammals makes sense…..but it would take a couple of decades for me and most of American society to wrap our brains around this one!
If you cook it in a cast iron pan it should retain it’s high iron content.
placental capsules?? u mean,u’ve got 2 eat others’ placenta?believe me,animals don’t do that….
I have tried eating placenta twice – images and text available at the link.
I believe in natural living, but to eat someone elses, dried and in capsuls form sounds to me someone wants to make big money, preying on our desire to healthy and happy. Anyone who knows anything about natural knows that cooking destroys food value. What about the disease factors that are spread by blood? It seems to me that there is a lot to consider. I wonder who has ever asked a animal why they eat theirs. Have they ever been given the answer.
Just to clarify, the women are getting their own placentas put into capsules. They aren’t taking someone else’s
fine by the time they get their placenta into capsules the danger of post partum depression would have been past.
I have to agree that animals eat their placentas to avoid becoming pray, not for it’s nutritional value. Also, keep in mind that nicotine, caffeine and hemlock are all natural, so is a male lion killing another males offspring, so not everything “natural” is good for you.
This is in fact interesting; however, dogs re-ingest thier vomit – so does that mean we should do the same?
Animals eat the placenta (and baby poop, as Anne points out) as a survival mechanism. When you have a vulnerable baby, the last thing you want is a predator getting a whiff. So, eat the whole smelly mess to protect your baby. But also, the placenta contains oxytocin, which helps blood clot.
So, it seems like quite a leap to think animals eat their placenta to prevent depression. You could argue that a predator killing your baby is depressing, and in that way eating the placenta helps prevent depression.
i have two children. i took placenta after my 2nd child and from my experience, my recovery period post-partum was much quicker with the ingestion of my own placenta.
if you vote that you would not eat it, you OBVIOUSLY haven’t sufferend from Postpartum depression!
Not only would I, I did, and swear by it!
In fact, I consumed mine raw and frozen to be sure of retaining the integrity of the hormones responsible for the benefits. And I will say that it was nothing short of a miracle for my mood and energy levels. I did it by blenderizing or grating frozen placenta with Spicy V-8, and drinking it as a..(ahem) Bloody Mother Mary.
It worked so well in fact, that I would never entertain NOT doing it if I had another child.
If more women knew just how much it helps, everyone would do it and there’s be no market for psychoactive pharmaceuticals to postpartum women and their nursing babies. Of course the FDA isn’t going to like it, because they and the drug companies don’t make a cent this way.
well – i’ve eaten mine – twice. I had a homebirth both times. then i cut up my placenta into mouth sized chunks and swallowed them raw, with a big glass of orange juice.
i never got any baby blues, i had no problem with my milk supply even though i can only feed from one side, and my womb was bsck to normal size within 3 days, which really shocked the midwives!
“I do find it intriguing that other mammals would have the instinct to eat it though. Maybe they instinctively know something we have forgotten?”
it doesn’t surprise that mammals eat their placenta. they are animals and animals can be pretty stupid in terms of what they eat. i mean some even eat their own shit. that doesn’t mean that we should eat our own shits for medical benefits.
This is one of the most disgusting things I have ever heard of. The placenta is not a part of the mother. It has the same genetic makeup as the baby. It is almost like cannibalism to eat it. If you have postpartum depression, take an anti-depressant, St. John’s wort, or stick on an estrogen patch.
umm candace then you don’t know that women who breastfeed can not take st.johns wart. I am now 9 months after my homebirth suffering from ppd t started yesterday. I WISH I would of caped my placenta! one of the stupidest things a naturalist like me didn’t do.
Human placenta possibly could have a buildup of encironmenta environmental toxins.
What…. The… F**k is wrong with people?
Why would you even begin to consider doing that?
If you get a foot amputated, would you eat that?
If I had a wife, and she wanted to eat the placenta… I would file for divorce immediately, and never talk to her again.
It would make me sick to look at her.
You people are f**ked up…. Seriously.
@Anonymous
I think someone who is so close-minded that he would divorce his wife over something like this is the one who is “f**ked up.” You don’t like it, don’t do it.
I had a homebirth. Mine was dried, encapsulated, and returned to me within 2 days of giving birth. Perfect timing for post partum. Not only did it significantly help with depression, each time I had a pill it was like a shot of energy. This was much needed in dealing with a newborn who wouldn’t sleep. Also – never had a problem with milk production.
I’m a vegetarian, by the way, and would do this again without hesitation.