Placentophagy is an increasing phenomenon in western societies nowadays. Pregnant people find out related media content and get naturally curious about why is it practiced and what are the health benefits and potential risks. This article is here to answer as many of those questions as possible and give a chance of informed choice to birthing parents.
©EVI KAMPERI, SOME RIGHTS RESERVED 15/07/2021
* Disclaimer: Midwifery is a very inclusive and safe space for everyone, where your identity and your needs are valid and important to us. Thus, the terms used in this article aim towards making everyone feel comfortable and included. Wherever “mother” and “woman” are used is only for making the article more easily readable by swapping back and forth between terms and not in order to exclude anyone.
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Definition
Placentophagy / Placentophagia < placenta (latest latin form) + phagia (greek) : The act/habit of eating placenta
Placenta
Plax (Greek – flat plate) plakous / plakoentas / plakountas (Greek – flat cake or/and placenta) placentae / placenta (Latin – late 17th century)
Phagia
Trogo (Greek vrb – eat) ephaga (Greek vrb past tense – eated) phagia (Greek – eating)
Plasentophagy: Human maternal placentophagy is the behavior of ingesting one’s own raw or processed placenta postpartum, immediately after parturition or later.
Placentophagia vs. Placentophagy
Placentophagia is referred to the placenta consumption by animals, whereas Placentophagy is referred to placenta consumption by humans.
Placentophagy as a social phenomenon
Even though the placental consumption is common among more than 4000 species. Only in humans and camelids has it been noted that the placenta is not routinely ingested. Scientists are not ensured of the evolutionary biological importance of the absence of the practice historically in humanity since prehistoric periods. Placentophagia is widespread among apes and non-human primates. This suggests that placentophagy in humans is a tradition that was lost with evolution at some point. The relatively conspicuous absence of cultural traditions associated with maternal placentophagy in the cross-cultural ethnographic record raises interesting questions about the reasons for its extreme rarity among prehistoric/historic and contemporary human cultures.
Although there are diverse reports of traditional cultures and different ethnicities who consumed placenta raw, cooked, or dried and pulverized, there was an era that placentophagy has been practiced by male and female midwives and obstetricians in Vietnam (mostly in Chinese and Thai tribes). They would eat exclusively placentas of young, healthy and beautiful mothers after frying them with onions. It has also been reported that the indigenous Kol people of central India use the placenta as a remedy for improving reproductive function.
“The greatest delicacy of the Indian cuisine is baked placenta. An oven is got ready and immediately after delivery the placenta, arounded by pieces of the cord, is baked until it has shrunk to half its size. Only the braves eat it as they believe it forms the child and is beneficial to them as source of strength and courage.”
Dr E. Y. Davis, 1882
In addition to those, in Argentina, native ethnic groups use the powder of the dried umbilical cord to treat sick children. Also, in traditional Chinese medicine, dehydrated placenta powder is used to stimulate lactation as well as treat fertility disorders among a host of other ailments.
Since the 1970s a trend has been observed, starting from the white middle-class women in the USA, that later on grew to other industrialized western countries. Even though one third (approximately 66%) of females that answered a related questionnaire and most of maternity care providers (86%) knew about placentophagy practices it is still considered taboo by some, although respecting other opinions. Interestingly enough, a research has shown that 27,9% of the respondents have ingested their placentas(we have to mention that the research was conducted between US American and Canadian participants with internet access that were either pregnant/postpartum and encapsulation specialists and Canadian respondents were less likely to consume their placentas).
Why some may consider placental ingestion
Most common reasons provided by people who have consumed their placentas or consider doing it are the following:
Prevention of Postpartum Depression (PPD)
Induction of lactation
Increase of milk production
Pain relief
Faster and more qualitative recovery
Faster newborn growth
Iron supplement
General mood stability postpartum
Feeling more energized postpartum
A historical study from 1918 describes the influence of desiccated placenta on lactation: increased amounts of protein and lactose were thereby measured in the breast milk. Weight gain was also more rapid in the babies breast-fed exclusively by the mothers in the placenta ingestion group.
Very few studies have explored the effects of placentophagy on humans with questionable results and conclusions due to small samples. Therefore, we are not in a place that we can advise people to do or do not eat their placentas, but continue reading to explore all the potentials.
How exactly do some people eat their placentas?
Raw
Placentas are sometimes eaten raw immediately after parturition. A trend that has been observed lately is placenta smoothies, when people would blend up their raw (fresh or frozen) placenta and umbilical cord and “enjoy” them in a smoothie alone or with other ingredients.
Cooked
Baked, fried, steamed or boiled. It defers from ritual to ritual and from era to era. Although, there are indications that encourage people to cook their placentas before eating it and are referred below.
Encapsulated
Most cases of placentophagy nowadays include encapsulating procedures where placentas are sliced and steamed at a certain temperature. Following that, they get dehydrated and encapsulated in gelatin capsules. Some practices do not include steaming, they dehydrate raw placentas.
Dehydrated and Powdered
Some rituals include dehydration of the placenta and umbilical cord (raw or steamed) intended for powdering. They then use the placental powder in different ways.
Trace Elements, Microorganisms and Hormones (briefly explained)
The intake of placenta capsules does not suffice, however, to adequately treat postpartum anaemia and in one randomised, placebo-controlled, double-blind clinical study it also effected no significant change in the maternal iron status.
Very low concentrations of the potentially toxic elements such as arsenic, lead, cadmium and mercury were found and were below the toxicity threshold as this is described by the European Union regulations. ATTENTION! If you were smoking, drinking alcohol or using drugs during your pregnancy it is advised to NOT eat your placenta since it acts as a natural filter-barrier for harmful chemicals.
The placenta appears to have similar microorganisms to the flora of the vaginal and oral cavities. Although, those seem to significantly decrease after processing the placenta.
Placental tissue contains various hormones, including oxytocin, estrogens, progesterone, human placental lactogen, ACTH and CRH. These hormones were detected both in raw placenta and in the dehydrated powder. All hormones are sensitive to processing with a significant concentration reduction through steaming and dehydration.
Potential Risks of Placentophagy
As already said, placental tissue is not sterile. That means contamination from potentially pathogenic microorganisms cannot be ruled out. Dehydrating the tissue at over 54 degrees Celsius leads to a significantly reduced number of microbiological species and eliminates Candida albicans. Although, one case published by the American Center for Disease Control describes a late-onset infection in a neonate from group B streptococci (GBS). The mother had consumed her own placenta postpartum in the form of capsules. Group B streptococci were identified both in the dried placental tissue and the blood of the newborn infant, but not in the breast milk. Improper handling/preparation/ processing of the placenta can be crucial.
There is not enough data to state that placentophagy has any adverse neonatal effects. Therefore it is assumed for now that it does not.
Potential Benefits of Placentophagy
The intake of placenta capsules in one of the studies led to a minor yet significant change in the maternal hormonal status. This may mean that human placental lactogen, as a hormone that stimulates milk production and has anxiolytic and sedative effects, could help improve postpartum well-being, decrease anxiety and be effective in case of insufficient lactation. It is debatable, however, whether the hormones become biologically available after intake as steroid hormones are poorly absorbed when taken orally.
There are not any other proven potential benefits, since there has not been enough studying on the topic.
Legal Perspective
Whereas separating the maternal and fetal tissue of the placenta is not possible macroscopically, it can be done in legal terms: the maternal part of the placenta belongs to the mother and must therefore be handed over to her by the maternity unit if requested. According to prevailing legal opinion in Germany, a separated body part remains the property of the person from whom it has been taken. Along these lines, the fetal part of the placenta thus belongs to the newborn baby (as does the umbilical cord) given that it is attributable to the infantʼs body. Mother and father may determine what happens to it, in the interest of the child, and therefore also demand that it be released by the hospital.
Conclusion
Scientists cannot officially advise pregnant people on whether or not to eat their placenta due to the lack of information regarding the topic. Research needs to get conducted in order to provide enough data for creating official guidelines and give the parents the chance on an informed decision. There is no black and white right now, just grey. We hope this article gave you a good idea of what placentophagy is. From now on it is your decision to make on how you are going to feel about it.
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