Eating your own placenta or someone else’s sounds pretty gross, but many celebrities like Jennifer Lopez and Kim Kardashian are doing it–would you try it? This isn’t exactly a new trend, since the modern idea of mothers eating their own placenta started back in the 70’s.
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What is a placenta? This is the first organ that forms after you conceive, it connects you with your baby in the uterus. Through the placenta or afterbirth you are delivering oxygen, nutrients and hormones to your baby. It helps feed the baby growing inside of you and it takes care of disposing waste as well. It grows alongside your baby and it’s the only organ your body makes that it disposes after you give birth. After you give birth, you will either push out the placenta vaginally or if you have a C-section, your doctor can remove it manually from your uterus.
Placentology or the eating of the placenta is something a few women do. The placenta is loaded with iron, vitamins B6 and B12, estrogen and progesterone, both important postpartum hormones. Various sources claim that eating the placenta can protect against postpartum depression. Women typically eat it right after birth since it’s supposed to give them an energy boost and encourage breast milk production.
If you’re pregnant and want to take home your placenta, make sure you talk to your doctor ahead of time and check the hospital’s birthing policies to see if you can. Once you have it, freeze it or cook it right away because like other forms of protein, it will spoil. There are midwives and other placentology experts online or on YouTube where you can find recipes. It’s important to note that mothers should eat their own placenta. There are companies that sell raw placentas for new mothers to eat and it can pose health concerns.
While there aren’t many scientific studies on whether or not the health benefits outweigh the risks, many women still take their chances because it is something they created. Would you try it?
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