In The News: Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine at UNLV
Eating the placenta after birth offers no benefit to new mothers, a new study suggests.
Consumption of placenta, known as placentophagy, in the form of capsules has been found to have no effect on postpartum mood, maternal bonding and fatigue, while compared to placebo, claimed a research by the ҳ| 鶹ýӳ (UNLV).
As birth trends go, eating your placenta is up there as one of the most divisive (along with vaginal-seeding, of course).
A groundbreaking study by UNLV researchers shows that taking placenta capsules has little to no effect on postpartum mood, maternal bonding, or fatigue, when compared to a placebo.
A study has recently suggested that new mothers consuming placenta pills, following childbirth, will experience little to no effect on their post-partum mood, maternal bonding or fatigue.
Eating the placenta does not prevent postpartum depression, new research reveals.
Many animals eat their placenta after birth. Zoologists know this is to ward off predators, but when the "natural" birth movement took off in the 1960s, believers stated that if animals do it, it must be for a health reason and humans should also.
Ingesting the placenta has become a popular practice among moms, with celebrities like TV personality Kim Kardashian West and actress January Jones claiming that it helps boost energy and deal with postpartum depression.
A study has recently suggested that new mothers consuming placenta pills, following childbirth, will experience little to no effect on their post-partum mood, maternal bonding or fatigue.
When you're expecting your first baby, the amount of conflicting information on pregnancy, childbirth, and parenting out there can be overwhelming. Should you breastfeed or use formula? Co-sleep or not? So many choices are fraught with controversy, but there's one decision that's now easier to make than ever, because there's even more evidence that women shouldn't be eating their placentas, in any form. It's true that many other mammals do so, but whether you're blending it into a smoothie or popping freeze-dried pills, placentophagy offers no benefits to humans, and it can actually be extremely dangerous for both mother and child.
Celebrity socialite Kim Kardashian West says it boosted her energy level. Mad Men’s January Jones touts it as a cure for postpartum depression. But does eating one’s placenta after birth—an apparently growing practice around the globe—actually confer any health benefits? Not really, according to the first in-depth analyses of the practice.
“I can't believe I lived through it, frankly,” Barbara Atkinson told me, as we sat at the conference table in her corner office, dotted with flowers and candy, gifts from well-wishers.