Eating the placenta....why?

**rosehannah** · November 2nd, 2007, 02:34 PM

I was at the hairdressers today and I was reading a magazine article that was telling of women choosing to have unassisted home births, I was really interested but unfortunately didn't get to read the whole story, however one of the ladies was a Doula and she described how she had eaten a bit of the placenta, I was wondering why she would do that?

~Belinda~ · November 2nd, 2007, 02:45 PM

I have heard it's a delicacy in some countries but serioulsy, that's just revolting and I would definately not do it.

**Heaven** · November 2nd, 2007, 02:54 PM

Oh I read that in Marie Claire. I have no idea, eww...

ETA- found this info

Then comes the practice of placentophagia, eating the placenta, is also practiced in some parts of the world. There are even meal like recipes for cooking placentas, including placenta stew, placenta lasagna, power drinks with blended placenta and others. Though some mothers have been reported to eat placenta raw.
There are many reasons listed for eating the placenta, including it helping stem postpartum depression and it supposedly helps to contract the uterus after the birth. We know that many animals eat their own placenta, including as a means to hide the scent from predators.
In our modern world this may seem barbaric and some have even said that this could spread HIV/AIDS or Hepatitis. While this is very true if people other than the mother consume the placenta, normally it is only the mother partaking of the placenta. In Chinese Medicine, the placenta is known as a great life force and is highly respected in terms of its medicinal value. However, in this field it is not cook, but rather usually dried. To dry a placenta you would simply dehydrate it in the oven, then using a mortar and pestle grind it up. From there you can mix it with food or ingest it within capsules. I have actually known one mother who did this drying technique. It is my only personal experience with placentophagia.

**AngelPunks** · November 2nd, 2007, 03:01 PM

From my own personal experience (I'm part Zulu & I asked my mother this years ago) in a tribal situation, the placenta is eaten because of the nutrients it gives the mother.

The placenta isn't eaten if it covers the face of the baby, in which case it is dried and given to the child as an amulet (being born with a cowl is a sign of psychic ability). My great-grandmother ate my grandmother's placenta, my mother's placenta was dried and given to her (we have no idea what happened to it before mum left South Africa in her 20s but we know it never made it out of SA).

**rosehannah** · November 2nd, 2007, 03:05 PM

I was wondering whether it might have something to do with triggering hormones or something like that , she said that it was only a bit, not eating the whole thing.

Thank you for sharing that schaz, that's really interesting.

**BellyBelly** · November 2nd, 2007, 03:15 PM

I can assure you it's a very, very rare thing you will find women doing. Moreso they will plant it at home but you even have to be careful how you do that, as it is so rich in nutrients that it can actually kill the plant.

Animals eat the placentas of their babies so it's not really a weird thing to do when you look at it that way, but not something I would do. I can't eat anything rich like liver or kidneys....

**Salsa** · October 10th, 2008, 03:30 PM

Moreso they will plant it at home but you even have to be careful how you do that, as it is so rich in nutrients that it can actually kill the plant.

We planted DS placenta with a tree we had put in a few mths earlier. We thought the tree would flourish, but it nosedived for a few years, I figured it was probably due to the nutrients from the afterbirth being too much for it...

When we told my M/w we would be keeping the placenta she offered some things we could do with it, including getting methods for cooking it - but she let us know that if we ate it she did not want to be invited to partake. I asked her if that had happened to her before and she said yes.

I used to have a korean friend who told me that in Korea they traditionaly offer you soup in the morning, insted of having cake. She said it was to represent a soup made of afterbirth - representing the afterbirth from when you were born. Its meant to wish you good health as well as remembering the time you were born.
She was wanting to make it for a friend of ours for her birthday as a nice surprise

, but I knew the surprise our friend would get would not be the kindly intention suggested

Nice idea, but I wouldnt want to eat placenta, and I wouldnt even want to eat a soup for breakfast that symbolised my own placenta!!!

I have no problem with anyone who chooses to do that though, however as far as it being like liver, my friends placenta that I saw looked like a big healthy liver, but my DS one looked fugly - not appetising at all

Im sure it was healthy but I was dissapointed it didnt look like my friends one

**DANNIIM** · October 10th, 2008, 03:42 PM

This is a great topic! It completely grosses me out to even think about it but at the same time i think it is just like eating an animals organs too...really no difference. If the human race wasn't so used to being so modern and getting everything out of a tin this is probably what we all would do.
I envy anyone who is able to do this!

**Cyathea** · November 9th, 2008, 06:11 PM

I am definitely eating my placenta this time, I had terrible PND last time (ended up suicidal) so anything I can do to try to prevent a repeat performance you bet I'll be doing.

I'm also intending to put a piece in my mouth immediately the placenta emerges, as I have a history of PPH, so any preventatives, again, most welcome!

I'd much rather have a piece of the placenta and hopefully stop any bleeding then to have to transfer to hospy (which I would do if necessary of course!)

And no hospital can refuse to give you your placenta if you request to take it home, it is YOUR property, they have no say over it.

**~mamaspice~** · November 10th, 2008, 11:47 AM

Cyathea, I am increasingly leaning towards eating it next time too as I had PND, bad milk supply and insomnia last time round. The only thing is I'm personally not sure if I could eat it raw.

**Beach Mama** · November 2nd, 2007, 03:24 PM

Gabrielle Targett talks about it in her book Labour of Love - which I loved, but when I got to this bit - I found it a bit fascinating but off-putting as well. I gave it to a friend so cant recall exactly what she said but it was something to the effect of eating small peices that she had frozen and how it made her recovery much faster, she felt empowered and her milk came in quicker(in comparison to previous births). There were a few other things she mentioned - I will try to have a look in the book next time Im at a my friends place!

**rosehannah** · November 2nd, 2007, 04:00 PM

thanks everyone,
while waiting for replies I googled 'eating the placenta' just to see what came up. Some very interesting sites out there mmm... there seems to be a name for it thought " placentophagia "

**diva det** · November 2nd, 2007, 04:57 PM

When my DH was 17 he worked in a kitchen at a hospital as a cook
he had to cook a placenta up for a chinese couple after their bubba was born
he said it stunk ! They threw out the saucepan and cooking utencils he used out afterwards as the stench was soo strong - a very offal type smell!
apparently is is to assist the mother's recovery- its high in iron other things that are suppose to help heal.

horses for courses!
odette

**Shanti** · November 2nd, 2007, 05:00 PM

DH wants to take the placenta home when we have our baby and plant it in the garden however i'm not so sure about it.... ewww gotta carry it home first!

Kelly, I'll let DH know what you said about how it could kill our plants lol he may change his mind!

**LadyRaven** · November 2nd, 2007, 05:21 PM

The lady that stitched me up said in her culture it was quite common to eat the placenta but she personally thought it was disgusting. The dr's actually asked if I wanted to keep my placenta to cook or bury, being drugged to the eyeballs at the time I yelled that that was absolutely revolting so they took that as a no and disposed of it for me lol

**diva det** · November 2nd, 2007, 05:37 PM

after my twins were born, they wanted to examine the placentas as my DS had stopped working properly but my DD was fine.
My poor DH had to carry the placentas down to SCU for them - he said they were so warm and pretty heavy! My DD placenta as nice and pink and firm- but my sons was grey and jelly like.

Ah well its the least he had to do !!!
Odette

**Trish** · November 2nd, 2007, 05:57 PM

I have also heard that if a woman is suffering from a PPH that if she takes a bite of her placenta it helps to stop it. Not sure how keen I woul dbe to try this at home. However, if I was bleeding to death ......

**suse** · November 8th, 2007, 10:06 AM

Apparently if you place even a small piece of the placenta against the lips, it causes the uterus to contract, which is probably how it helps in preventing haemorrhaging. Apart from being high in iron and other nutrients, high in oxytocin perhaps? This was reported in new active birth, which cited confirming research. (Can you imagine how many takers they would have to be the subjects for that experiment...! LOL!)