Placental Ingestion

[Beth]

Eutherial mammals (including humans) and sharks all pass placentas after giving birth to their young. While we share many things in common with our animal bretheren; such as seeking out a dark, quiet space in which to labour, surrounding ourselves with experienced individuals or withdrawing to be in private and wanting to be near our babies - there is at least one way in which most people are different from animals: we generally don't eat our placentas (a practice known as placentophagy).

Traditionally, placentophagy is said to help balance postpartum hormones, enhance maternal milk supply and increase energy. Placenta contains high levels of prostaglandin - a natural chemical that helps the uterus to shrink back to its original size - and a molecule known as POEF (Placental Opioid-Enhancing Factor) which is a natural pain reducer.

There are even skin and hair care products on the market that contain placenta which claim to be regenerating and nourishing.

Sounds great, right? If even herbivorous mammals chomp down on placentas because they are chock-full of good stuff, why don't we humans bring our forks and knives to a birth?

Well, chances are, if you are a typical North American reading this entry, you can answer the question yourself with your own gagging - many of us are completely revolted by the idea of ingesting placenta (either our own or someone elses'). It is a cultural taboo and a source of abjection - as a friend of mine once said about placentophagy, "Bethy, my body passes shit, but I don't eat that either."

What if you wanted to get the benefits of placental ingestion but couldn't bear the thought of combing the Internet for afterbirth recipes (sadly, http://www.cooks.com doesn't have any)? There are websites that allow you to encapsulate your placenta inside gelatin (or vegetarian) capsules for you to pop like you would your daily vitamin.

For example, http://placentabenefits.info/index.asp sells a kit that gives you everything you need to encapsulate your placenta (including a disposable cutting board and apron). If that still seems a little "hands-on" for your taste (no pun intended), some Chinese medicine health care providers will perform the service for you for a fee.

Lest you think that some crunchy granola types (and what's so wrong with being a crunchy granola type, anyway?) are the sole promoters of ingesting placenta, keep in mind that throughout the ages, many cultures practiced placentophagy and many people see it no different as eating tongue, haggis, kidneys or brains.

Just some "food" for thought!

P.S. If you are interested in recipes that involve placenta preparation, I do have a collection. Feel free to email me at [e-mail]

[Beth]

You are welcome to them...just say the word!

I'm so glad you liked the post - thank you!:)

[Jessica Levesque]

If I ever have another I will need your recipes! My midwife suggested eating it but she said it more as a joke. If she had said it in a more educational way and told me about the benefits I would have taken a bite. Thanks for the awareness and I do think this could become more mainstream by us "crunchy" folk. =0)
Best wishes,
Jessica