Eating the placenta: pros and cons of this strange practice
You got it right: eating the placenta has become a trend. For some years, Hollywood stars have been supporting the many advantages and benefits of this practice that we could at least define bizarre, and they do not refrain from publicly supporting it, from the Kardashian sisters they praise it on social networks to celebrities of the caliber of Nicole Kidman and Tom Cruise.
Are we really sure that this is such a healthy practice? Let's find out together what are all the pros and cons, in addition to the testimonials and opinions of experts and other mothers like you. Should we also carry a fork and knife among the essentials in the hospital bag?
Eating the placenta: the origins of this practice and what the law says
The first evidence of this practice dates back to the seventies. The initial observation from which what has now become a real fashion is the following: all mammals eat the placenta after giving birth, with the exception of man. It would therefore be a "very widespread habit in the animal kingdom that we too, according to some, should take as an example.
In Italy there are no precise laws regarding eating the placenta, which in fact belongs to the mother and which can therefore be considered free to use for self-therapy purposes. In other countries, such as France, this practice is prohibited by law.
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What are the pros of eating the placenta? What supporters think
According to advocates of eating the placenta soon after birth, this practice would have more than one advantage. First, on a psychological level, it would strengthen the relationship between mother and child. It would even go so far as to prevent post-partum depression.
The placenta would be very rich in vitamins and nutrients, and would give excellent energy support. Thanks to the hormones present, it would be very good for the woman in the postnatal period and would even improve breastfeeding. Could it be true?
How to eat the placenta?
Among the supporters of eating the placenta there are those who consume it raw, those who prefer it cooked or even used as an ingredient in a smoothie. Indeed, in the United States, a cookbook has been published, "The Placenta Cookbook"!
More frequently, always in the USA where the practice is more widespread, the placenta is dried and transformed into capsules, or used to make decoctions.
There are also laboratories that produce real homeopathic granules from pieces of the placenta, used for targeted treatments and some pathologies. Nothing, however, scientifically proven.
The cons of eating the placenta: what science thinks
Research from Northwestern University, analyzing recent studies on placenta eating, stated that in reality - with all due respect to its VIP supporters - this practice does not give any real and proven benefit to women. Rather, it risks being even dangerous to his health.
There is insufficient data to support the idea that eating the placenta is good for you. Being an organ that acts as a filter between the mother and the fetus, it is rather full of toxins and pollutants, to the point of being considered harmful to both the woman than for the baby who is being nursed by her.
It would therefore be a dangerous fashion or, at best, completely useless and unjustified. Of course, it contains iron (but a nice piece of meat or a plate of spinach has even more!), But also substances such as lead, selenium, mercury. Everyone is free to do what they want, but maybe it's not worth the risk to imitate celebrities.
Eating the placenta: testimonials and opinions
If you are looking for testimonials and opinions on the subject and would like to compare yourself with other mothers like you, take a look at our forum. There you can ask your questions to those who have already tried or known similar experiences closely: there are those who wonder with perplexity whether it is appropriate to eat the placenta, or those who ask what taste it will ever have.
In the forum you will be able to confront and open up with other women like you in total freedom and sincerity, helping each other and finding all the pleasure of the community, so as not to feel alone in all the difficulties that motherhood entails today. And they are not few ...
