Placenta Eating

Yup, I do know moms who have done this, and my midwives did ask me what I'd like to have done with my placenta.

I've spoken with mamas who don't have it dried, but fry it up with butter and onion.

Eating my own placenta is a bit outside my comfort zone. I planted my placenta underneath a tree.

I have a couple of friends who had homebirths that started to hemorrhage after they delivered the placenta, and eating the placenta stopped it. They made soup out of it afterwards to help with anemia. Not exactly my idea of a good meal, but it is a very old remedy.

I have only heard of animals doing this and I was told it was for their and the protection of their new family as it makes them susceptable to preadators -
Not to be judgemental, but I threw up a little when I read this title. Interested to see other mommas' thoughts, responses. . .

Theresa, I usually don't comment on the 'female only' questions, but I acutally heard this same story. And today, just like when I heard it the first time, I did throw up in my mouth just a little...
Sounds weird,but the placenta being what it is, it doesn't surpise me that someone out there came up with this.
Thanks for the wake up!

I have three young kids, all delivered by different OB practices. None of the doctors ever mentioned this, or asked if I wanted this done. To me, this is straight-up nasty! It turns my stomach just thinking about it. I definitely think this is NOT the norm.

There is at least one militant placenta preparer on this site who will PM you viciously over any comments suggesting doubts about the practice.
For some reason she disintegrates into arguing that lions don't have predators (lions, hyenas and leopards are always eating each others young) and it's something that EVERY mammal does (but not because they are avoiding predators) so it MUST be good/beneficial/right/natural/etc.

Look, if it's something you want to do - you can do it yourself without paying anyone to do it (oh, but they've been TRAINED to do it PROPERLY!).
Someone is trying to promote a service and make money from you while doing it.
Personally, I think it's a gross practice and there's no scientific proof (like from the Mayo Clinic from doctors with names you can actually pronounce) that there's any harm or benefit.
I delete hate mail, so don't bother but no doubt the placenta police will be on me again.

Yes, I will be doing this when baby arrives. I had severe post partum depression with my first two and am willing to try just about anything. I am not sending it to a big company, I have a friend who is certified to do it. If you are concerned about other people's placenta getting mixed up there are certified people who will come and do it in your home. I think it is still a fringe idea, but more people are doing it. My doctor does ask and the hospital has tubs that they send it home in.

Sorry. No way I could do it.

And of course YOU had to post this question. ☺♥

I didn't even LOOK at my placenta. Can't imagine eating it! YUCK!

Please....just.....no.....

Gross - kind of cannibalistic IMO. :)

Although, it would be an excellent way to serve a delicious stew to someone you hate.

That sounds really gross. It reminded me of people back in the early 1900's grinding up mummies and thinking it would be beneficial to their health. It turned out it wasn't. This I would think can be on the border of cannibalism.

Animals eat their placenta because they wont be going anywhere for awhile to get adequate nutrition(its survival instincts), a new mother cat who is offered soft food will eat that instead.

This mother cat kinda likes hospital food, ill think ill stick with that.(i dont even eat meat, much less my own body)

.........My husband joked he was going to tear into it like a sun dried tomato, lol, hes got an odd sense of humor and likes making my face cringe.

Gross!! The newest thing when I had my last two was cord blood. I cannot see any doctor even mentioning this since there doesn't seem to be any proof of what it does.

The placenta is an amazing organ!
I will freely admit when I first heard of this, I thought: That is disgusting.
The idea of EATING it makes my stomach hurt. But then if you put a steak in front of me I would get the same queasy feeling. No, thanks.
But the more research I have done and the more understanding I have, I see the benefits of it and I would look into encapsulation next time.
I sincerely don't see how it is so terribly different than the vaccines people inject into themselves.
I certainly don't think it will become the norm w/ the standard hospital issue OB's-ever. No worries there. ;)
Eat it, don't eat-but don't be hating on the amazing thing that grew your baby. :)

P.s. Thank you Theresa, for making my lunch of mushroom soup just that much more special. Lol! ;)

Oh, sweetie, you made my stomach turn. I know animals do it, but...

The answer to your questions in my experience is a resounding no. I did read a thread on here from the midwife you and I unfortunately know, who talked about it. You could go back and find her thoughts on the subject, if you want to stomach that!

Dawn

this is totally not for me. i am not into eating human body parts! it just seems wrong. IF it were scientifically proven to prevent post partum i might consider it but probably would think better of it. i do not remember my doctor saying anything about it.

my husband and i saw a telivision special where the couple was frying up the placenta for dinner. i believe it was shared among the guests. totally freaked me out like caniblisim !

Updated

this is totally not for me. i am not into eating human body parts! it just seems wrong. IF it were scientifically proven to prevent post partum i might consider it but probably would think better of it. i do not remember my doctor saying anything about it.

my husband and i saw a telivision special where the couple was frying up the placenta for dinner. i believe it was shared among the guests. totally freaked me out like caniblisim !

I am giving birth in January in a cold and dark climate. My doula recommended that I look into placenta encapsulation, so I did. It is supposed to help with PPD (which I've never had but who knows in January), milk production, energy levels, and more. I have contracted with a woman who is going to do it for me. There are organizations that certify different methods. I don't think I'd trust just sending it out to some company.

Hmmm...would PETA approve? Now there's a conundrum.
I've heard of it. Wouldn't do it. I had my first Starbucks after giving birth. That sufficed.

Didn't read all the responses so I may be repeating, but my first thought (after the wave of nausea passed) was....If you send it to a company, how can you be sure you're getting your own placenta back and not someone elses? BLAH!!!!!!!

I had a doula encapsulate my placenta... I wasn't able to take it right away since I had an infection in the cesarean wound... and it specifically states NOT to take them if you have a fever or infection. Once I did take them tho... I did notice a change in mood and energy. Once I stopped taking them, the energy dropped and moodiness due to feeling unappreciated surged back. I forget to take my daily allergy medicine and prescription meds when I have them... it was hard for me to keep up with taking the pills. I've heard great things from many women and most more ancient cultures practice some sort of placenta consumption.

Many doulas have this 'art' as part of their experience and job.

There was a woman I knew when I was preg with my first that was really into this and tried to convince me, saying that my husband could do it at home. "My husband can't put together IKEA furniture! He is not going to dehydrate an organ and turn it into jerky." She then mentioned the companies that do it for you and return it in pill form. I had visions of receiving a "mixed bag" of crowd-sourced placentas...

I also know some folks that keep the placenta but DON'T eat it- choosing instead to use it in a more symbolic manner. One couple returned it to the earth as part of a tree-planting ceremony.

I think people should do with their placenta anything they damn please- but it probably offers the most good when donated and used for a public stem cell/ cord blood banking.

To each their own... not my bag of tea, but whatever floats your boat!!

This is actually a really ancient ritual and has a variety of forms... some eat the placenta, some bury it, some burn it...

Again, whatever ;)

Seriously----I saw the title and gagged. I only opened the post because I saw it was you, lol. :P
My youngest is ALMOST 2. I would have popped someone upside the head if they'd suggested it to me (noone did). A dog will do that, because they don't have a nurse to take care of it. Ewww. I just gagged again. Next subject. :)

Sounds gross to me but since it is in a vitamin/pill form who knows. Perhaps medicine can prove there are benefits...But at the moment ewww

Ugggh! I gagged just reading your headline! Blech, gross, disgusting!

Then again....wonder if we will ever see this on Fear Factor.....

I have not read the story or the other posts.....so here's my take.

I have heard of this practice, probably b/c my whole life I've been around medicine, western, eastern, holistic, etc.

It is considered very healthy to consume the placenta due to it's high iron content.

Similarly, when patients present with anemia (low iron) it used to be the 'norm' to prescribe dessicated liver....which is essentially dehydrated liver, pulverized and put into a capsule. The patient takes with meals and within a couple of weeks, Voila! no anemia.

Most people I meet nowadays do not ever consume liver or seldom eat pate or braunschweiger, which is made from liver products.

There is definitely a strong link between low iron levels and lack of energy or lethary. So it stands to reason, that given a time in history where good beef liver might not have been available, eating the placenta was a viable and healthy alternative.

In addition, I would only recommend this practice to woman who are disease free.

One more afterthought...it does seem to borderline on a bit of cannibalism....gross.

I've hear of this - and right now, the sound of it to this pregnant lady is completely disgusting. I want to barf!

Yes, I have heard of this. My best friend had awful post partum depression after her first baby. Her second son she decided to just be completely different and she had him at home with a midwife. The midwife cooked up some placenta for her...a tiny amount...after the birth of her son. She had never thought of this in her life, but the midwife told her it is common knowledge that if you eat some you will not get ppd. She said she timidly tried it and it tasted wonderful so she ate it up. She did not get any ppd that time...so who knows, maybe there is something to it!

I've heard it's very beneficial both for postpartum recovery and for menopause later on--I just could never bring myself to do it, feels like cannabalism or something. My midwife did ask me what my "placenta plans" were, but I had a homebirth. My first was born in the hospital 2 years before that, and there was no mention of it--I didn't even see it. I know there are people who will prepare it for you--even placenta chefs. Eeeew.

Look Mammas its not cannibalism!!! I had a hospital birth with my first child and midwife and took the placenta home to burry....I wasnt into the placenta encapsulation then. But for my second I had a homebirth and a new midwife and a doula. They dried the pacenta for me at home and showed my husband what to do ....& I swear totally felt the difference! I was so much clearer and stronger and just ready to do stuff. In two days I really was bounced back! I say 100% it completely helped! I know it freaks people out but think outside of the box! ...and you dont need certified people to do this....a midwife can help and there is info online. Just a food dehydrator and empty pill caps

I have heard of mothers in third world countries cooking and consuming the placenta because it is believed that it will improve the milk supply. I am not sure that I could stomach the thought of cooking and eating something that was a part of me, but if there are companies now that dry, grind, and put it in a capsule I don't see anything wrong with that. Most animals that give live birth eat the placenta. I think that as humans in a modernized society you won't find many people who are interested in doing this. I think I would also like scientific studies that prove that it is safe and be assured that there are safety measures in place that prevent me from getting any one else placenta powder.

No, no and NOOOOOO!!!!! Barf city! It's an age-old cultural practice in some tribes and whatnot, but it doesn't mean I need to do it. My first acquaintance with the practice was watching a super groovy couple give birth in a 70s health/birth film. The sight of the woman's placenta turned inside out and held up to the new dad's nose made me heave and two guys puke! I no more want to eat placenta than I want to pull out a tampon and suck it dry. Equally disgusting in my book. Drying it, grinding it and encapsulating it is not appealing to me, but it's a far cry from those who actually eat it in my opinion.

No, this is not a common/popular thing. It's a very tiny portion of the population that would do this. This primarily applies to home birthing families. A hospital will view the placenta as medical waste and be required to dispose of it accordingly. I had a home birth with my second child. I had no desire to eat or keep my placenta. Since baby was born on a Saturday, no one had garbage pickup the next day and we buried it in the front yard under a bush.

I was asked after the delivery of my placenta if I wanted it back from pathology my OB told me that many patients make things out of it like stew for cultural/religion beliefs followed with ceremony of baby or to be shared among family,my husband & I just looked at each other I remember telling my Ob no we won't like it back thanks.I have not heard it being used in that form but we all have different beliefs medically proven or home remedies.

I know several women who have done this and swear by it.

Personally I couldn't do it. I think there's a lot of practices that have been done over the past few hundred years because it seemed like a great idea at the time and maybe it was /is medically sound or maybe the placebo effect? So many of those practices are no longer in use because research has show it was ineffective or a better method/drug has been found.

I also think it's part of a trend for the 'earth mother's'. There's a little bit of the 'one up on the committed mother rung than you along with breast feeding for 2yrs and staying at home, home births etc.

If you choose to do it then I respect your choice but please don't judge or try to convince other women they must do it to.

Let's focus on medical evidence that it's beneficial and not use it as another tool to compete with other women. (sorry - just the women I know who support it and even make money from it)

I find this gross too. I don't think it's wierd perse, just that I couldn't do it. The funny thing is, I also breastfed for 2 years. STILL I found it a little gross and really hated the smell. Made me realize how far from my mammal instincts I had become. I know other mammals eat the placenta and it has a lot of nutrients in it. That may be why/how it helps ward off post partum depression (all conjecture folks so don't quote me) I also had a friend that burried the plaenta under a tree in honor of a grandparent who had passed shortly before the baby was born which I thought was a nice sentiment.

Ummm, at first thought this is repulsive, but if you start thinking about the other things we consume, this isnt so bad.
No, my doctor never mentioned it, but I do believe the placenta is an amazing thing and has huge benefits. Im not sure what benefits it would be after it was dried up and grinded into to capsules, but its worth looking into.

I actually had my step brother and his wife over for dinner the other night and my step brother asked me - as a joke - if I would be doing this. I looked at him with such disgust. It sounds horrifically disgustling and I would never think about doing this
Is it really any different than eating it like a piece of meat, or a dried fig, or sprinkled on cereal? Sorry to be so gross but honestly just because its all dried up and ground into a capsule to swallow does not make eating your own placenta any better in my books - Just Gross

I have never heard of that. But I know my mom has bought shampoo with placenta's in it and it made her hair really strong and shinny.