Would you eat your own placenta?

[Rhio92]

I really couldn't do it x

 

[Noelle610]

A friend of mine sent me this article this week. Lots of debatable stuff here, but thought this was an interesting perspective:

https://www.skepticalob.com/2013/06/unnatural-childbirth-5-goofy-things-that-natural-parenting-advocates-do-that-never-occur-in-nature.html

You have to be the most gullible rube on the planet to be or use the services of a “placenta encapsulation specialist. Human beings in nature do not eat the placenta, and they certainly don’t free-dry it first.

Indeed, the anthropological literature dates the first sighting to an indigenous group of California homebirth advocates (I kid you not). In Consuming the inedible: neglected dimensions of food choice, MacClancy and colleagues report:

In association with the natural childbirh movement from the 1960’s placentophagia was taken up in some ‘Western’ societies, especially in California, on the basis that it was ‘natural’, as ‘all’ mammalian species eat the placenta. The problem with this is that not all mammals are regularly placentophagous and our closest primate relatives also are not placentophagous… [M]odern placentophagia is based on an inaccurate idea of making the human birthing process more ‘natural’.

 

[Sarahkka]

Interesting read, Noelle - thanks!
I have no problem if people want to eat their placenta, but I do get twitchy when they use incorrect/bad science to try to explain why.
I am interested to see some research on the off-cited potential PND-fighting effects. It would be great if this was the case as it is a relatively inexpensive and safe method of treatment (as opposed to prescription meds). But it may just be the mighty placebo working.

 

[Midnight_Fairy]

Nope.

 

[Feronia]

The Skeptical OB is not a very reliable source though. She is VERY biased about anything having to do with natural childbirth and I've seen her cite some very inaccurate information. (Even about my own specific midwife.)

That being said, I would have encapsulated my placenta if I experienced any post-partum depression, but I didn't and I recovered well so I planted it underneath a tree on our balcony instead.

On the research: If there's little to no money to make on the results of research, little to no research will be done on any given topic. Sadly, I doubt there will be much research on placenta encapsulation for a while yet.

 

[Noelle610]

The Skeptical OB is not a very reliable source though. She is VERY biased about anything having to do with natural childbirth and I've seen her cite some very inaccurate information. (Even about my own specific midwife.)

That being said, I would have encapsulated my placenta if I experienced any post-partum depression, but I didn't and I recovered well so I planted it underneath a tree on our balcony instead.

On the research: If there's little to no money to make on the results of research, little to no research will be done on any given topic. Sadly, I doubt there will be much research on placenta encapsulation for a while yet.

You are very right about that. But I still thought it was an interesting perspective - several of the ladies on here have mentioned that it's not as "natural" as one might think (and bear in mind I WOULD eat mine!).

 

[Eternal]

No, I don't think I could and again not been compelled by anything enough to feel there are any real benefits too it.

 

[rainbows_x]

Definitely not x

 

[smokey]

Not sure if this is actually true or not but there was a story going around a while ago that a couple in the US were being sued by their friends as they invited them over for dinner and once the meal was finished the couple hosting annouced to their friends 'you have all just enjoyed my (the womans) placenta... They had made some sort of dish with it.

Im not a fan of the suing culture but I think in that case I would probably sue as well if a friend did that without telling me.
Im all for trying things but with the knowledge and consent of what your trying.

 

[Leesy]

Not sure if this is actually true or not but there was a story going around a while ago that a couple in the US were being sued by their friends as they invited them over for dinner and once the meal was finished the couple hosting annouced to their friends 'you have all just enjoyed my (the womans) placenta... They had made some sort of dish with it.

Im not a fan of the suing culture but I think in that case I would probably sue as well if a friend did that without telling me.
Im all for trying things but with the knowledge and consent of what your trying.

Right on smokey! But who knows if it's true or not, stories get embellished and sometimes just completely made up, but if it did heppen it's totally wrong.

 

[Rhi_Rhi1]

No... and i'm not convinced on the reasons people give for it either. I hear allot of comments like "we are animals and animals do it etc" yeah but we live in houses eat a varied diet and sleep in beds lol (hardly wild animals are we) ... we have no need to hide the smell of our young from predators, and no need for the extra nutrients etc that it apparently gives... I could just eat an orange lol okay maybe not but something like that hahaha.

 

[Kate&Lucas]

What are the benefits, while we're on the subject? What does the placenta contain that makes it (apparently) so good for us? Not that I'm planning to give birth anytime soon but if I do in the future it's definitely something I'll be looking into.

As for the argument that it's 'natural' because other animals do it...
Other animals do lots of things we don't do. My mam had a cat who ate her own kittens for example. Is that natural? I don't care how nutritious it is, I ain't eating my baby..

 

[beanzz]

Definitely not... I can't eat most foods because the textures make me gag so I wouldn't ever be able to eat a placenta.

If they encapsulated them at hospitals then I might but they don't

 

[beanzz]

What are the benefits, while we're on the subject? What does the placenta contain that makes it (apparently) so good for us? Not that I'm planning to give birth anytime soon but if I do in the future it's definitely something I'll be looking into.

As for the argument that it's 'natural' because other animals do it...
Other animals do lots of things we don't do. My mam had a cat who ate her own kittens for example. Is that natural? I don't care how nutritious it is, I ain't eating my baby..

I've heard of people saying they had a better milk supply, feel better and have more energy, heal quicker, pp bleeding stops sooner and help prevent PND

LOL yea... Won't catch me eating my baby either

 

[Sarahkka]

What are the benefits, while we're on the subject? What does the placenta contain that makes it (apparently) so good for us? Not that I'm planning to give birth anytime soon but if I do in the future it's definitely something I'll be looking into.

As for the argument that it's 'natural' because other animals do it...
Other animals do lots of things we don't do. My mam had a cat who ate her own kittens for example. Is that natural? I don't care how nutritious it is, I ain't eating my baby..

I've heard of people saying they had a better milk supply, feel better and have more energy, heal quicker, pp bleeding stops sooner and help prevent PND

LOL yea... Won't catch me eating my baby either

But are there any proper studies backing any of this up? That's the thing - it seems to be mostly anecdotal at this point. Which is fine as there really isn't any harm in it other than possibly spending money on something that is making false claims. As far as I know, no one is going to get sick from eating their own placenta.

 

[Kate&Lucas]

Yeah that's what I'm wondering, whether it's actually been proven that it does anything at all, or if the effects are purely placebo.

 

[Feronia]

Again, when there is little to no money to make on doing research, little to no research is done. That's the problem with looking at the effectiveness of almost any natural treatment. Big pharmaceutical companies (which are huge contributors to medical research) can't make money on you eating your placenta, so why do a study? The same goes for many other natural treatments.

There's a study from 1954 (found here) that shows that eating your placenta increases your milk supply. However, the study hasn't been replicated. It also makes sense logistically that it would increase depleted iron stores, but I don't think there are any studies on it.

Women need to go with their own intuition on the subject instead of looking for studies that point them in a direction. I would be very surprised if any studies came out any time soon on this.

 

[Sarahkka]

Again, when there is little to no money to make on doing research, little to no research is done. That's the problem with looking at the effectiveness of almost any natural treatment. Big pharmaceutical companies (which are huge contributors to medical research) can't make money on you eating your placenta, so why do a study? The same goes for many other natural treatments.

There's a study from 1954 (found here) that shows that eating your placenta increases your milk supply. However, the study hasn't been replicated. It also makes sense logistically that it would increase depleted iron stores, but I don't think there are any studies on it.

Women need to go with their own intuition on the subject instead of looking for studies that point them in a direction. I would be very surprised if any studies came out any time soon on this.

Oh, let's not open the can of worms that is "natural treatments" and the shockingly unregulated billion-dollar health and supplements industry that is notoriously adverse to proper clinical studies (and rife with wild and false claims about the benefits of various miracle cures for everything from cancer to baldness). I don't think you can make the argument that there is no money to be made from natural medicine, therefore no funding for studies.
I see your point that placental material isn't going to make much profit to anyone beyond the small-scale encapsulation operations, but regardless, the science that has so far been suggested as the basis for this practise is pretty weak. That alone should give anyone with a critical faculty some pause before diving into this.
I also don't think one should rely solely on intuition for health decisions. While there may not be any direct negative health consequences from eating placental tissue, there could be indirect ones. For instance, what if someone with severe PND/milk supply issues/anemia/etc delayed getting treatment as they were relying on the placenta to deal with that particular issue, when in fact it was not? Then there is a problem.
So at the end of the day, is it responsible to be making claims that placental tissue does any of these things without actual scientific proof?

 

[SaraEmily]

I would get it encapsulated if there were proven benefits. Otherwise, no. If someone does choose to and it has a positive effect, great for them, but I don't think it necessarily proves anything, either. It could be a placebo effect for all we know.

But if you choose to get it encapsulated, make sure you trust whoever's doing it. I read an article while I was pregnant about a woman who paid someone to do it and got very sick from an additive they included without her knowing.

 

[Feronia]

Again, when there is little to no money to make on doing research, little to no research is done. That's the problem with looking at the effectiveness of almost any natural treatment. Big pharmaceutical companies (which are huge contributors to medical research) can't make money on you eating your placenta, so why do a study? The same goes for many other natural treatments.

There's a study from 1954 (found here) that shows that eating your placenta increases your milk supply. However, the study hasn't been replicated. It also makes sense logistically that it would increase depleted iron stores, but I don't think there are any studies on it.

Women need to go with their own intuition on the subject instead of looking for studies that point them in a direction. I would be very surprised if any studies came out any time soon on this.

Oh, let's not open the can of worms that is "natural treatments" and the shockingly unregulated billion-dollar health and supplements industry that is notoriously adverse to proper clinical studies (and rife with wild and false claims about the benefits of various miracle cures for everything from cancer to baldness). I don't think you can make the argument that there is no money to be made from natural medicine, therefore no funding for studies.
I see your point that placental material isn't going to make much profit to anyone beyond the small-scale encapsulation operations, but regardless, the science that has so far been suggested as the basis for this practise is pretty weak. That alone should give anyone with a critical faculty some pause before diving into this.
I also don't think one should rely solely on intuition for health decisions. While there may not be any direct negative health consequences from eating placental tissue, there could be indirect ones. For instance, what if someone with severe PND/milk supply issues/anemia/etc delayed getting treatment as they were relying on the placenta to deal with that particular issue, when in fact it was not? Then there is a problem.
So at the end of the day, is it responsible to be making claims that placental tissue does any of these things without actual scientific proof?

I certainly do not think that one should rely solely on intuition for health decisions! And don't get me wrong, I'm not proposing that everyone goes out and buys unregulated health supplements either, I'm just saying that we can't look to medical literature right now to answer questions on the effectiveness of placenta encapsulation one way or the other. Sure, there are TONS of false claims going around about natural treatments (how about natural ways to induce? Ugh, ugh, ugh, they do NOT work). But how about inexpensive home remedies, things like garlic to treat GBS, or breastmilk to treat ear infections? There's no unregulated health industry surrounding those things, nor do I think there are medical studies that tackle their effectiveness (correct me if I'm wrong), and that's what I'm talking about.

Ultimately, I don't think anyone can argue that someone else shouldn't eat their own placenta. Don't eat yours if you don't want to, and eat it if you do. Bottoms up!