Use of placenta

Should I Eat My Placenta? Placentophagy and Placenta Pills

Written by WebMD Editorial Contributors

What Does the Placenta Do?

The placenta, or afterbirth, is the first organ that forms -- even before any of your baby's organs -- after you conceive. It plays an important role in your pregnancy: It connects you and your baby in the uterus and delivers oxygen, nutrients, and hormones to them. It also takes away the waste that they make.

The placenta grows throughout your pregnancy. It is also the only organ your body makes and then gets rid of. After you give birth, you don't need it anymore. If your baby arrived through vaginal delivery, you'll push it out vaginally. If you have a C-section, the doctor will remove the placenta from your uterus. At delivery time, it weighs about 1 pound. It looks round and flat.

People who support eating the placenta say that it can raise your energy and breast milk quantity. They also say it can level off your hormones, lowering your chances of postpartum depression and insomnia.

Those claims have not been fully tested. So there is no proof that eating your placenta actually does these things. But some experts say we should continue to study it.

In animals other than humans, eating the afterbirth has some perks. It might reduce labor pains in a female dog, for example, as their remaining puppies are born, and it can encourage the mother to bond with their newborns.

Remember, though, that's for a dog, not for a woman.

The placenta does have protein and fats. But those nutrients can be found in a healthy diet.

Human placentophagy isn't new. Throughout history, different cultures have done it, although they don't always think it's a good thing. Some experts think that modern doulas and midwives may recommend placentophagy based on a misunderstanding of scientific literature.

What to Expect If You Try It

One of the ways that women eat their placenta is dried, powdered, and sealed into capsules. Swallowing a pill with the dried placenta might be easier if you're squeamish about seeing, touching, or tasting the "raw" tissue itself. Often a midwife can prepare the pills for you. But one of the things we don't know is whether heating it offsets any of its benefits.

Since there's little research on eating the afterbirth, it's hard to know how you will feel. Most women who want or expect to feel good or better after eating placenta do feel that way. But that may be just a placebo effect.

Some women have said they feel sick after eating it. If you research online or talk to women who have tried it, you can get varied opinions. But those are based on personal experience, not scientific evidence.

How to Decide If It's for You

While there doesn't seem to be any proof that eating your placenta can help you, there is some proof that it can hurt. If you eat it "fresh" or raw, it might spread infection. Even processing your placenta by putting it in capsules might spoil it with bacteria or viruses.

Some hospitals may not allow you to take it or eat it. So if you're considering it, ask ahead of time about their policy.

10 things to do with your placenta after giving birth

Posted on July 20, 2017June 29, 2022

Posted in Labour & Delivery and tagged 3rd Trimester.

The placenta – food source for foetus, life support for unborn infant, connection between mother and baby, super organ extraordinaire. Yes. The placenta is all this and more.

You may not realise it, but after you have delivered your placenta, you actually have a choice what you do with it. Do you keep it and maybe plant it in your garden or make a memorable artwork from it? Do you eat it? Or do you simply let the hospital take care of its disposal? The choice yours.

Here are 10 things you can do with your placenta after giving birth.

Plant it under a tree

Let the placenta grow with your newborn by planting it. Simply plant the placenta in the ground with a tree seedling and watch it grow. The nutrients from the placenta supposedly make a great fertiliser. Elizabeth Santos gives excellent instructions and recommends burying the placenta at least half a metre deep so animals don’t dig it up.

Keep it attached to your newborn

Many new mums are now choosing NOT to cut the cord. Known as a lotus birth, the umbilical cord remains attached to bub until it naturally separates, normally three to ten days after birth.

The process is meant to provide a more transitional experience as baby goes from womb to world and is fast becoming one of the more popular things to do with your placenta (image via Kindred Birth Instagram).

Pamper your skin with it

Use your placenta as an ingredient in your very own brand of homemade skin creams. Placenta powder can mix into many different types of creams and is suggested to help heal the skin, reduce scars and stretch marks and even heal sore or cracked nipples. (image via Ace Beautys)

Turn it into artwork

The placenta is often known as the tree of life. Not only does it kind of resemble a tree, but it also provides life to your newborn. So it makes sense to use this theme after the birth and design your own piece of artwork to cherish for years to come. (Image via Back to Basics Birthing)

Enter the Tree of Life Placenta Portraits and placenta art, another trend that allows mums to honour this life-giving organ in a rather unique way. For sure, no-one else will ever have an image of your placenta hanging on their wall. (Image via Nomi Palony)

Wear it

Placenta jewellery is another interesting way to keep your placenta and your pregnancy experience close to you. Companies like Beyond the Willow Tree make placenta keepsakes you can wear. Their rings, bands, pendants and beads represent the sacred bond between mother and child. (Image via Beyond the Willow Tree)

Encapsulate it

The placenta contains many nutrients (including iron and vitamin B6) and hormones that are beneficial to bub while in the womb. Many health professionals believe these nutrients remain in the placenta and consuming the placenta can be good for your health.

The most common way is through placenta encapsulation, a process in which the organ is steamed, cooked and ground into powder form. The powder placenta is then placed in a capsule which you can swallow with your morning coffee. Be aware though that a US health warning was issued recently against placenta encapsulation after a baby became sick. (Image via Womb’s Heal)

Eat it

Some parents have been known to skip the encapsulation process and simply cook up the birthing organ and eat it like meat. You can serve it like steak, put it in a placenta smoothie, make icy poles out of it or substitute it for your regular meat. Placenta taco, perhaps?

What does the placenta taste like? We are so glad you asked. Although I’ve never tried a placenta dinner, those who have reckon it tastes like a combination of liver and beef. (Image via South Florida Placenta)

Make it into a teddy bear

Extra crafty mums who aren’t keen on eating their placenta may want to turn it into a comfort critter. Designer Alex Green did just that, turning her dried placenta into a teddy bear.

To make your own Placenta Bear, you will need to cut the placenta in half, rub it with sea salt, dry it and treat it with an emulsifying mixture of tannin and egg yolk to make it soft and pliable. Then it’s time to stuff and sew. It’s like a Build-a-Bear workshop. But with a placenta.

Let the hospital handle it

Many new mums don’t care a dot about the placenta after it’s on the outside. It’s done its job. Bub is here. Now be done with it. If you fall into this category and are not too keen on bringing your placenta home in an esky full of ice, then let the hospital dispose of it for you (and save the esky for celebratory drinks when you get home! (Image via Monet Nicole Photography)

Donate it

Another option on our list of things to do with your placenta is to donate the afterbirth products. Although the umbilical cord and the placenta are usually disposed of once baby arrives, cord blood is rich in stem cells and can be used to save lives and for medical research in the future. (Image via Ancient Paths Midwifery)

Not all hospitals offer the option to donate cord blood, but it’s worth checking to see if your maternity hospital can. You can learn more about cord blood donation at the Australian Bone Marrow Donor Registry, Gift of Life or the Sydney Children’s Hospitals Network.

Want to know what other mums did?

Join the conversation over on our Facebook page and ask what other mums did with their placentas … click here!

(Image via San Diego Birth Photographer)

Posted in Labour & Delivery and tagged 3rd Trimester.

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What to do with the placenta? 10 uses

The placenta (baby place, afterbirth, storage) is a unique organ. It appears only for 8-9 months to provide the unborn child with oxygen and all the necessary nutrients, but after the third stage of labor it becomes unnecessary. What can be done with the placenta after the doctor examined it and said that everything is in order? There are at least 10 options, and each has its supporters.

Eat. This is exactly what female placental mammals do after giving birth, even herbivores. After all, the afterbirth contains many valuable nutrients, and after giving birth in the wild, you need to restore strength as soon as possible in order to be able to run and get food again.

Women still do this too, especially in parts of Asia. Some experts recommend eating the placenta for the prevention of postpartum depression and anemia. However, in our time, placentophagy has acquired many exotic forms: since it is rather problematic for a civilized person to simply eat a raw afterbirth, as in the wild, the placenta is either heat-treated, like ordinary meat, or smoothies are prepared, or encapsulated. To do this, the placenta must be steam-dried, turned into powder, and then taken in the form of capsules. Of course, only those who have the appropriate technical capabilities resort to such methods. However, you should be aware of the risks: the placenta contains hormones, is not sterile, and may even be infected. nine0003

Bury. In our climatic latitudes, the placenta was most often buried in the ground. This could be accompanied by rituals: the placenta was washed, sprinkled with fragrant herbs, spices, put in an embroidered bag (they could cover it with a layer of wet clay and dry it so that it would not become food for wild animals), and only then they put it in a specially prepared hole - under the house, in a wasteland but most often under a tree. If a girl was born, the placenta was buried under a "female" tree - for example, an apple tree. If the family was replenished with a boy, the children's place was buried under a maple or oak tree so that the guy would grow up strong and powerful. Nowadays, the placenta can be buried under the so-called "family tree" to ensure the baby's health and well-being, or they can simply be buried in a flower bed - they say, this is how flowers grow better. nine0003

Bury. In some countries (particularly on the island of Bali), it is customary not just to bury the placenta, but to ritually hide it in a cemetery, believing that it is a living being.

Make a decoration. The placenta looks good in epoxy, so some women order a pendant, bracelet, ring or necklace from their own placenta from jewelers. Such decoration should symbolize the bond between mother and child. nine0003

Dry for memory. Dried placentas are sometimes used in art compositions or sewn into toys.

Sell. Cosmetics made using the placenta are very popular on the market - creams, gels, serums, shampoos, etc. Especially effective are products with a placenta in anti-aging cosmetology - because in this way you can stimulate the appearance of new cells, as well as activate the production of collagen and elastin, and the skin becomes more elastic. Therefore, some women sell their afterbirth. Although, of course, you won’t earn a lot of money this way. nine0003

Use in homemade skin cream. However, a cream that will help heal the skin, reduce scars and stretch marks, and even heal sore or cracked nipples is even made independently. To do this, placenta powder is added to other components.

Dispose of. In Ukraine, this is the most common scenario for the development of events. Maternity hospitals are guided by a protocol for handling biowaste: after the completion of the third stage of labor, the placenta is examined and sent for freezing in a special chamber. When it is full, the placentas are taken for disposal - more often they are buried, less often they are burned. nine0003

Deposit in the cryobank. Today, the placenta - like cord blood - is used to isolate the most valuable mesenchymal stem cells. Even now, stem cells are successfully used for the treatment of various diseases and in cosmetology, this area is rightly called "medicine of the XXI century." Therefore, such a “contribution” can be a very profitable investment in the health of the child and the longevity of the parents. Interestingly, stem cells are obtained from a smaller part of the placenta, from the amnion and chorion, which are genetically related to the child. The remains of the placenta can be used as the family decides, because everyone has their own opinion and traditions of the family. nine0003

Read also 10 unique facts about the placenta

Placenta in cosmetics

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Clarifying the terms

The plant placenta is a marketing metaphor. Plants do not have any placenta, but there are stem cells that are involved in the development of embryos in seeds. In their composition, as in the placenta of animal origin, a lot of amino acids and vitamins, and they also have a rejuvenating effect.

Did you know? nine0003

The restorative properties of sheep placenta have been known since the 1st half of the 20th century.

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Read carefully

If the composition of the product includes a female placenta taken after childbirth, the packaging must necessarily indicate that the cosmetics contain allogeneic material. And, of course, in this case, you need to make sure that the manufacturer is honest.

Did you know?

The active use of the placenta in cosmetology began in the 1980s. nine0003

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Improving the result

One of the best “neighbors” of placenta extract in cosmetics is collagen. Placental creams, masks and serums with ginseng, peptides, gold and hyaluronic acid also have a good effect on the skin.

Did you know?

Placental cosmetics are recommended to be stored in the refrigerator.

Reading time: 5 min.

Cosmetics with a placenta - a panacea for age-related changes or a "dark horse" of the beauty industry? Why does it have such a powerful anti-aging effect? And in general, is it really possible to just take and buy a cream with a human placenta, brr? Let's figure it out together! nine0003

How does placenta extract act on the skin?

The placenta contains a huge amount of vitamins, microelements and amino acids, which are necessary for the full development of the embryo and which then enter the epidermis as part of cosmetics. Placental growth factors stimulate the appearance and development of new skin cells (this is necessary, because these processes slow down with age). In addition, placenta extract helps to “remove” dead cells from the body.

Products with a placenta activate the production of collagen and elastin by fibroblast cells located in the dermis, so the skin becomes firmer and more elastic, the face oval is tightened, and wrinkles are smoothed out. nine0003

Placenta extract improves metabolic processes in the epidermis. Therefore, it recovers faster after sunburn and invasive procedures (thermolifting, peeling), age spots disappear from the face, etc.

The best placenta products in our special selection:

580 rub.

650 rub.

Which placenta is used in cosmetics?

As in many countries, in Russia it is forbidden to use hormones and human placenta in cosmetics. According to rumors, in some beauty salons in Asia, “youth droppers” with a female placenta are in demand, but we still need to try to find such clinics.

Most often, creams, serums and masks include an extract of sheep or pig placenta. In composition and action, it is similar to the extract of the woman's placenta, and the health of animals is carefully monitored. nine0003

And placenta for cosmetics can be artificially synthesized in the laboratory, like the well-known "snake peptide" Syn-ake. A synthetic mixture of amino acids, enzymes, vitamins, minerals, collagen and other substances will definitely not cause ethical dilemmas.

Can placental cosmetics be dangerous?

The placenta, which is used in home care products, undergoes a thorough cleaning before entering the mask, essence or cream. The content of hormones in it is minimized to a statistical error, and all the "miracles of rejuvenation" occur solely due to peptides, collagen and vitamins. nine0003

Human, sheep and pig DNA are similar, so the possibility of allergy due to the use of placental cosmetics is very low. However, you should always remember about the individual reaction of the body. Before first use, perform a skin sensitivity test: apply a small amount on the inside of the forearm and leave for 24 hours.