Should you eat your placenta?

2023-11

Have you ever heard of someone eating their* placenta? Is it beneficial, simply useless, or potentially harmful?

Before we pass the salt, let’s see what the science says.

*Note: For ease of reading this article I will say “their” or “your” placenta. It is really the baby’s placenta, grown from the products of their own conception.

Firstly, where did this practice start?

It is often said that all other mammals practice placentophagy (consuming the placenta after birth). This is not true and there are many mammals that in fact do not eat their own placenta. Amusingly, tree squirrels have been noted to lob it out of the nest onto creatures below, but they are not alone in avoiding eating it.

Another assertation I've encountered is the claim that placentophagy is an age-old tradition, however this is also untrue.

There is no evidence of any ancient society where mothers routinely engaged in placenta consumption. Some early Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) records do prescribe human placenta, but they warn postpartum women not to partake. Recent generations of postpartum women did begin the practice, but it wasn’t until famine and hardship in post-1960 China that the general population were hungry enough to start consuming their own placenta.

While the origins are unclear, placentophagy is ultimately a very new, and primarily very ‘western’ practice. Just as the American-invented fortune cookie spread around the world as a perceived staple of Chinese dining, the mythologizing of contemporary ideas as ‘eastern’ have resulted in a folkloric legitimization of placentophagy. This is especially true in communities where people are already looking to compliment the offerings of modern medical practice. Taken out of context, we now have an unquestioned ‘tradition’ that is gaining popularity into the mainstream whilst touting untold health benefits.

So, is there any benefit from consuming your placenta?

One of the fundamental concerns surrounding placentophagy is the lack of substantial scientific evidence supporting its benefits. Proponents for placentophagy will often admit to a lack of research supporting the practice as beneficial but claim a lack of quality research at all.

This in fact is not true: there have been hundreds of legitimate research articles published including randomized, double‐blind, placebo‐controlled trials and meta-analyses. The evidence is out there, and resoundingly shows a lack of any substantial health benefits.

While some may experience positive outcomes (the Kardashians claim it to be “life changing”), these are anecdotal. When placenta is consumed by people who are nutritionally deprived research shows there to be some beneficial effect, like that of supplementing with nutrient-dense foods. However, in cases where the person’s diet is already sufficient, their reported benefit is attributed to a placebo effect only.

Complicating things, the method of preparation will alter the end product. Eaten raw, placenta contains greater concentrations of nutrients and hormones, but also a greater risk of bacterial or viral contamination (more on that later). The contamination risk may be lowered when cooked, but the nutrients also degrade.

The most popular method of consuming placenta in recent years is dried, powdered, and encapsulated. This can help, but not guarantee, to reduce bacterial/viral risk, yet results in an end product that has been shown to contain very little nutrients (negligible iron and hormone concentrations that would be unlikely to have any impact on an adult).

Ok, science says it probably won’t do anything, but people swear by it... is there any harm in trying?

What are the risks?

One significant risk (and the primary medical concern) is the potential exposure to pathogens. The placenta, while serving as a protective barrier for the developing fetus during pregnancy, is not sterile. Handling, preparing, and consuming it could lead to infection by harmful microorganisms, and improper sanitation can also introduce risk. This concern came to a head recently when a baby in the USA developed a severe Group B Strep infection from contaminated placenta capsules handled by its mother, prompting warnings by the CDC. It has been noted that routine cooking/drying of the placenta does not guarantee to kill bacterial or viral pathogens as they will be eliminated at different temperatures and cooking times.

Another concern is the placenta's role as a filter. Throughout pregnancy it protects the baby from various toxins and heavy metals that may be present in the mother's body (even more if routinely exposed to cigarettes or other workplace chemicals). Consuming the placenta would mean reintroducing these, which may be harmful.

Additionally, placentophagy may expose newborns to hormones, especially estrogen. The hormones ingested are likely too low to affect an adult, but cases have been documented where estrogen in placenta capsules passed to breastmilk, causing breast buds and extended vaginal bleeding in babies. There are also anecdotal reports that placenta capsules restrict breastmilk production, which makes theoretical sense since the hormones secreted by the placenta keeps milk low during pregnancy.

Finally, we must consider cost and legality. Having the placenta processed can be quite expensive ($200-$500 in the US), although DIY methods could be cheaper. The legal concerns will vary from country to country. In some places (e.g., in China) there are strict regulations regarding the handling and consumption of another person’s placenta and people interested in this practice should research the legal framework in their region to avoid potential legal issues.

At Ferguson Women’s Health @Am-Sino Healthcare we are committed to providing you with evidence-based care.

The following resources were used to formulate this article:

https://www.ajog.org/article/S0002-9378(17)30963-8/fulltext

Coyle CW, Hulse KE, Wisner KL, Driscoll KE, Clark CT. Placentophagy: therapeutic miracle or myth? Arch Womens Ment Health. 2015 Oct;18(5):673-80. doi: 10.1007/s00737-015-0538-8. Epub 2015 Jun 4. PMID: 26043976; PMCID: PMC4580132.

Farr A, Chervenak FA, McCullough LB, Baergen RN, Grünebaum A. Human placentophagy: a review. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2018 Apr;218(4):401.e1-401.e11. doi: 10.1016/j.ajog.2017.08.016. Epub 2017 Aug 30. PMID: 28859955.

Mota-Rojas D, Orihuela A, Strappini A, Villanueva-García D, Napolitano F, Mora-Medina P, Barrios-García HB, Herrera Y, Lavalle E, Martínez-Burnes J. Consumption of Maternal Placenta in Humans and Nonhuman Mammals: Beneficial and Adverse Effects. Animals (Basel). 2020 Dec 15;10(12):2398. doi: 10.3390/ani10122398. PMID: 33333890; PMCID: PMC7765311.

Buser GL, Mató S, Zhang AY, Metcalf BJ, Beall B, Thomas AR. Notes from the Field: Late-Onset Infant Group B Streptococcus Infection Associated with Maternal Consumption of Capsules Containing Dehydrated Placenta - Oregon, 2016. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2017 Jun 30;66(25):677-678. doi: 10.15585/mmwr.mm6625a4. PMID: 28662016; PMCID: PMC5687501.

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/06/style/placenta-eating-postpartum-placentophagy.html

https://www.tga.gov.au/resources/resource/guidance/human-placenta-ingestion

https://www.science.org/content/article/moms-should-you-eat-your-placentas

https://thewomens.r.worldssl.net/images/uploads/fact-sheets/TakingPlacentaHome_IH080518.pdf

https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Fortune_cookie&oldid=1176705423

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