There has been a LOT going around on the internet recently about women eating their own placentas (AKA placentophagia) after giving birth, and I’ve gotten a lot of questions whether you are to eat it raw? Cook it? Do I eat the whole thing? Some of you are reading this vomiting in your mouth, and the others are thinking, “I am all about this.” I want to let people know all sides of the issue so you can make your own informed decision about what you want to do with your health…and your placentas.

What is a placenta?

The placenta is the organ that covers the inside of the uterus, it is about a pound, a dark red/maroon color,  and connects to the fetus to allow the mothers blood to pass into the fetus allowing gas exchange (“breathing”), food and nutrients, and eliminate waste (through the blood flow in the placenta).  It connects to the baby through the umbilical cord, which is where all of the blood exchange occurs from mother to placenta.  After birth (usually 15-30 minutes after delivery), the placenta has pulled apart from the uterine wall and is “delivered” or expelled from the uterus (just like the baby was right before). Once the placentas is delivered, there are all sorts of cultural differences with what is to be done with it: In western culture we tend to incinerate the placentas, other cultures have funerals for placentas, many different cultures bury the placentas in various places, and others eat them….

Why would I eat a placenta?

The research to back up all of the claims related to eating placentas is currently being researched by the NIH (National Institute of Health) as well as other independent studies are going on, but there are some claims that are heavily backed by the women who have tried it.  The placentas are heavily laden with the vitamins and hormones that support the fetus during pregnancy, and it remains a source of those vitamins and hormones right after birth: Oxytocin, Vitamin B6, CRH (Corticotropin-Releasing Hormone).  In China, Italy, and Vietnam it is pretty customary for people to eat part of the raw placenta directly after birth.  The oxytocin present is thought to prevent the post birth hemorrhage risk, the vitamin B6 levels can prevent post partum depression, and the CRH, which is a hormone created by the hypothalamus to decrease stress and is found in high levels in the placenta during the third trimester, is thought to also help decrease the risk of post partum depression.  It is assumed that because your CRH levels are so high during the third trimester and it takes a while for the hypothalamus to start re-secreting post birth, it can be one reason for post partum depression, and taking an oral supplementation, in the form of your own placenta, might help to stave off those blues. Traditional Chinese Medicine has been using placentas for treatment for hundreds of years, with a few small poorly done studies showing decreased rates of post partum depression and increased milk production when women eat placenta.  Clearly much more research needs to be done for humans.

What are the negatives?

There are truly no known negatives at this point per say, as it is lacking so much research.  I just fear that women will start eating their placentas because some random celebrities are doing it, and their may be some health risks associated with it, depending on your childs birth and any trauma that may have occurred to the placenta.  And while some of these celebu-moms claim that the placenta pills that they make (out of food processing their placentas along with fresh herbs) and they take multiple pills a day, there have also been accounts that the placenta pills make post partum moms feel miserable and extremely jittery and out of control.  It could be all of the concentrate hormones and the absorption post partum through the stomach with the other herbs that makes a big difference. But, many women who start these pills end up stopping taking them.  There are no other known negatives, other than the fact that its pretty gross to eat your own flesh (a bit cannibalistic, no?) but again, much research needs to be done in this area to truly know the positives and negatives.

It has been well researched that non human mammals eat their placentas all the time, and it helps ease after pains of birth, restore lost nutrients (including iron), and it ignites the parental instincts in animals.  We, as humans, don’t really need that; we give birth with HCPs surrounding us, we know how to care for our offspring, and we have numerous medical treatments to help with iron stores, etc. Plus we don’t know if there are actually benefits to eating a part of our own flesh; most people would prefer not to eat things that come out of them, if they don’t need to right? This is one thing that I will really urge you to think hard and long about before trying and really talk to your HCP about the benefits that you are looking for, for both you and your new offspring, before diving headfirst into this practice.

Yours in Good Health

B