The placenta: can you eat it after giving birth?

The placenta is an organ that develops in your uterus during pregnancy. This structure provides oxygen and nutrients to your growing baby and removes waste from its blood. The placenta attaches to the wall of your uterus, and your baby's umbilical cord arises from it.

Placentophagy, meaning the ingestion of the placenta after birth, is very common among mammals, and there is growing interest in this practice among women after birth — particularly in the United States — and it is emerging in France[1]. This is partly due to Kim Kardashian having done it and recommending it. 
 

The placenta can be consumed raw, cooked, roasted, dehydrated, encapsulated in capsules, or in the form of smoothies and tinctures. The most commonly used preparation appears to be encapsulation of the placenta after steam cooking and dehydration.

Until fairly recently, the only studies on rehydrating and consuming one's placenta were very old, the main one dating from 1918[2].

A single 450g placenta contains on average 234 calories, 4g of fat, 899mg of cholesterol, 513g of sodium, 48g of protein, as well as significant quantities of trace elements (24% of the recommended daily intake for iron and 7% for selenium)[3][4].

Advocates of human maternal placentophagy report that encapsulated placenta is an excellent source of dietary iron.

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The main concerns regarding placenta ingestion are: the ingestion of elements at toxic levels (cadmium, arsenic, mercury, lead), pathogenic bacteria (Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus…) and significant quantities of medication following childbirth (anaesthesia, antibiotics…).

Absence of toxicity

In accordance with European Union regulations, a study showed that concentrations of potentially toxic elements (arsenic, cadmium, mercury, lead) were below the food toxicity threshold after steam treatment and dehydration of the placenta [14]. Another study of 28 placentas found no elements present in quantities that could be dangerous [15].

Possible microbiological contamination

Dehydration of this tissue at above 54°C (the temperature at which the placenta is dehydrated for encapsulation) leads to a significant reduction in the number of microbiological species and eliminates Candida albicans (responsible for candidiasis) [16].

A infection viral or bacterial in the mother and/or the newborn is a contraindication to placenta ingestion. Likewise, the placenta should not be consumed following a anaesthesia general anaesthesia, as it may have absorbed opioids and other anaesthetic agents [19].

The risk associated with ingesting one's own placenta following a spontaneous, non-interventional delivery, without long-term pharmacological treatment during pregnancy, is relatively low.
 

Smoking during pregnancy increases the concentration of cadmium in placental tissue and therefore also presents a risk in the event of ingestion [20].

The ingestion of placenta preparations in the presence of mastitis and/or of blocked ducts is also contraindicated due to the potential stimulating effect on lactation [21].

The injection of human placenta
 

Human placenta can be injected after childbirth. This may help to:

Promote wound healing
 

The administered placental extracts are readily absorbed and bind to specific receptors present on the surface of targeted cells. They then stimulate inactive or damaged cells, tissues and organs in the body, thereby ensuring tissue repair and regeneration. Placental extracts also exhibit numerous other therapeutic properties and act as a stimulant for tissue repair, wound healing, immunomodulation, anti-inflammatory action [22], cell proliferation and tissue regeneration [23].

Recently, human placenta has been used in the form of extracts in the clinical field. In a study on mice, researchers injected this extract into the wound margins of the mice. The experimental group showed an accelerated reduction in wound size compared to the control group from the third to the ninth day, and the extract was found to promote wound healing [24].  

Reduce pain
 

The consumption of placenta after childbirth is thought to have properties relating to post-labour pain, but this data is controversial and could be attributed to a placebo effect. 
 

Research was conducted into the efficacy of placental extracts in the treatment of patients suffering from complex regional pain syndrome, a disorder associated with inflammation characterised by spontaneous pain, swelling, changes in skin colour and restricted movement. In one patient with this syndrome, a remarkable improvement was observed after receiving injections of placental extract at specific acupuncture points, with complete pain relief, a reduction in swelling, disappearance of redness and restoration of joint movement [25].
Larger-scale research is needed to verify this in other patients, but this data is promising for the future.

The topical application of human placenta

Promote wound healing
 

Placental extracts have been shown to be effective for wound healing in diabetic patients in one study [26]. This study compared the efficacy of topical dressings based on placental extracts versus povidone-iodine dressings (used as a local antiseptic on the skin) in various patients suffering from diabetic wounds. Placenta-based dressings were able to significantly accelerate wound healing compared to povidone-iodine dressings, resulting in an accelerated recovery of wound healing of seven to ten days.

Reduce hair loss
 

Alopecia (hair loss) is an increasingly common problem, attributable to hormones, genetic factors, autoimmune diseases, medications and stress, all of which disrupt the hair follicle cycle and cause hair loss.

A previous report demonstrated the efficacy of placental extracts in promoting hair growth [27]. Hair regrowth in depilated mice was studied by applying human placental extracts topically once a day for fifteen consecutive days. The results showed that placental extracts increased hair regrowth and also increased the expression of FGF-7, which plays a central role in maintaining the anagen phase (the hair growth phase) and the cellular proliferation of hair follicles, suggesting that they could be a promising candidate for the treatment of alopecia.

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The question of placenta encapsulation has been put to us many times. We have tried to address it in an evidence-based spirit, to give you simply the information available today on the subject and help you make your own choice.

It does not take into account the "sacred" dimension that the placenta can hold — which is of course far more than a collection of cells and nutrients, but a remarkable organ that connected us to our baby for 9 months, and which many consider to be "its twin". It can indeed be honoured in many ways, for example by making an imprint of it (tree of life).

With the studies and research currently available, it is difficult to demonstrate a genuine benefit.

Certain cases carry risks for the consumption of placenta-based products (smoking, mastitis, anaesthesia during childbirth), and the risks of microbiological contamination are contested in the scientific literature.  

As a reminder: In France, it is prohibited to retrieve or consume your placenta after childbirth: it is legally considered a medical waste product or a strictly regulated human body product.