Placenta - maintains a fetus and fills you up
In my recent scouring of women's health news, I managed to read Joel Stein's recent column Afterbirth: It's What's For Dinner without giggling and even more surprisingly, without gagging.
Placentophagy, the eating of placenta after birth is not a new fad, as some may believe - it's a long-standing action done by many animals, and a growing number of parents. Placentophagy advocates believe that pregnancy complications as well as postpartum depression can be prevented by eating the placenta. Doctors have found little to no evidence to support these claims, but also make it known that as long as a woman is healthy and the placenta is cooked, the only dangers lie the physical connection to human blood products (primarily there could be a risk of hepatitis B,C and HIV infection).
While not quite my cup of tea, the stories of placenta-eating I have read have all included positive and empowering feelings. I have yet to read a story of a woman who was disappointed in her experience and while I can't imagine eating my own placenta (I have a hard enough time handling raw chicken!), I am impressed by the support and enthusiasm surrounding placentophagy.
Placentophagy, the eating of placenta after birth is not a new fad, as some may believe - it's a long-standing action done by many animals, and a growing number of parents. Placentophagy advocates believe that pregnancy complications as well as postpartum depression can be prevented by eating the placenta. Doctors have found little to no evidence to support these claims, but also make it known that as long as a woman is healthy and the placenta is cooked, the only dangers lie the physical connection to human blood products (primarily there could be a risk of hepatitis B,C and HIV infection).
While not quite my cup of tea, the stories of placenta-eating I have read have all included positive and empowering feelings. I have yet to read a story of a woman who was disappointed in her experience and while I can't imagine eating my own placenta (I have a hard enough time handling raw chicken!), I am impressed by the support and enthusiasm surrounding placentophagy.
Tags: pregnancy, women's health
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