For about a year now, I’ve been hearing about placenta eating. At first, I’ll admit, it sounded a little gross. But I have no baby of my own and I was open to the idea that once I did, my capacity for gross would probably increase. Besides, placenta eating certainly seems to have its benefits.
Most recently, I started thinking about it after coming across this post about a placenta face cream on Stroller Derby. And yes, this would definitely be too far for me, no matter what the benefits. In any case, a few links later I found myself at the website Placenta Benefits info, which made the placenta sound a little bit like a sort of post birth cure-all. As a non-pregnant person who has already found herself worrying occasionally about post partum depression, though, I’d be more than happy to set aside my first impressions if it meant avoiding it. And supporters claim that’s not all eating the placenta can offer. It is also said to improve your milk production and increase your post birth recovery.
As you might expect, placentophagy, as it is known, has its detractors (among them the FDA). But if you’re on the fence, it might help to know that you don’t actually have to ingest your placenta in lasagna, as some people do, or eat it raw, as some really hardcore people do. These days you can also take your placenta in pill form. In fact, you can even hire someone else to dehydrate your placenta, grind it up, and prepare the pills for you. The thought of sending my placenta off with someone else strikes me as just a little bit odd, but still, I think I might be coming around.
Molly Langmuir
Molly Langmuir does remember what it was like to be on staff at a magazine, although these days every magazine she has ever worked for is closed. She blogs at mollykay.tumblr.com, has a journalism degree from Columbia, and has written ...
Read more about Molly Langmuir ->
More on these topics:
placenta, placenta eating, placenta pills, post partum depression
greg@gregbeat.com says:
SO gross. But good article!
Jennifer King Lindley says:
Certainly food for thought....
Jennifer says:
Hi. I'm going to throw up now. But, yes, good article.
Jeff Wagenheim says:
Recipes, please?
Laura Fortin, PES says:
Hello Everyone, my name is Laura Fortin, I am from MA and I am one of around 50, at present, who have been trained by Jodi Selander of Placenta Benefits to encapsulate placenta! Just to clear things up a bit, we do not take your placenta anywhere, we prepare it in your own kitchen. Don't worry, though, we have strict sanitation practices and we always aim to leave your kitchen cleaner than it was when we arrived! Our clients have reaped great benefits of our work and I think I can speak for us all by saying that we feel honored to be allowed to handle and prepare such a powerful medicine.
Molly, thank you for writing an article in which you admit that you were first a bit grossed out--as many people are, initially--but then show your ability to be flexible when new information is presented. I think that ability is crucial if we are ever going to see most women taking advantage of medicine that is their birthrite--err, birthing rite ; ) If anyone else feels the urge to vomit, consider this: do you consume animal flesh? do you bite your nails or little bits of skin from your fingers or put your mouth to a minor bleeding wound? do you take supplement capsules? In the most fundamental respect, I think placentophagy is no different than any of these things. If you're still skeptical, please educate yourself further--http://www.PlacentaBenefits.info. The site and PES training program have just been totally revamped and it's not going to be long before this medicine is in widespread use!
Molly Langmuir says:
Thanks for sharing all that info, Laura. And I agree that eating your placenta is no different, really, than eating animal flesh. The pictures of it are a little difficult for me, though. Maybe I'm just more accustomed to eating raw meat? Not sure.
As for recipes, Jeff, you're in luck. Just click on the lasagna link above and you'll find everything from a recipe for placenta spaghetti bolognese to one for a placenta cocktail (!).
Molly Langmuir says:
Woops! I meant that I'm more used to looking at raw meat, not eating it.