Why eat placenta

See more conditions. Request Appointment. Healthy Lifestyle Labor and delivery, postpartum care. Products and services. Is it safe to eat my placenta? Answer From Mary Marnach, M. Thank you for Subscribing Our Housecall e-newsletter will keep you up-to-date on the latest health information.

Please try again. Something went wrong on our side, please try again. Show references Farr A, et al. Human placentophagy: A review. American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology. Schuette SA, et al.

Perspectives from patients and healthcare providers on the practice of maternal placentophagy. The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine. Gryder LK, et al. Medical Review Policy All What to Expect content that addresses health or safety is medically reviewed by a team of vetted health professionals.

Getty Images. Proponents of eating the placenta say the practice has benefits — but there are risks, too. Here's what you need to know about eating the placenta and how to decide if it's right for you. Back to Top. In This Article. Continue Reading Below. Read This Next. View Sources. October Pregnancy Groups. Third Trimester. Jump to Your Week of Pregnancy. I will not prepare placentas for anyone other than the birthing person. But crucially, she is a firm advocate for the health benefits it can bring mothers who consume it.

People find that when they consume their own placenta after birth, it contributes to a gentler and easier postpartum recovery. She recommends steaming the afterbirth with herbs and dehydrating it, before grinding it up to make capsules.

A piece of placenta can also be steeped in alcohol or distilled water to make a tincture or essence that is believed to help balance hormones, even years after giving birth. Birmingham midwife Siobhan Durkin, who offers placenta remedies in the Midlands under the name Pretty Little Placenta, has captured footage of the process of turning it into capsules. So for vegans, this is a very appealing source of much-needed nutrients right after birth," she says.

As placentophagy has become more widespread in recent years, champions of the practice have been pushing for better regulation in the preparation of placenta for human consumption. Last month, the Food Standards Agency FSA announced that human placenta is legally classified as a food due to its extensive history of personal consumption.

It specified that those making remedies for new parents need to register with their local authority and be inspected for safety and hygiene. According to the Placenta Remedies Network, we can trace placenta preparations back to traditional, historical practices in Western and Asian medicine.

The natural instinct to routinely consume placenta seems to remain prevalent in over 4, species of land mammal, but no longer in humans. So the question is, did consuming our placenta immediately after giving birth make us sick, due to cadmium poisoning?