In other parts of the world, women have been eating and honouring their placentas for centuries. Many cultures view this uniquely impermanent organ as having sacred or magical properties. And when you consider its life giving functions, it is easy to see why. The Ibo of Nigeria and Ghana treat the placenta as the dead twin of the live child and give it full burial rites.
The placenta is the amazing organ that connects the baby's body to the mother's body while baby grows in the uterus. It keeps baby nourished throughout the pregnancy and removes waste.
Most mammals eat their own placentas right after giving birth. It's called PLACENTOPHAGIA, and scientists aren't certain why they do it.
PLACENTOPHAGY can be divided into two categories, maternal placentophagy and non-maternal placentophagy.
MATERNAL placentophagy is defined as, "a mother's ingestion of her own placenta postpartum, in any form, at any time."
NON-MATERNAL placentophagy is defined as, "the ingestion of the placenta by any person other than the mother, at any time."
MERITS...
1) In addition to protein and various vitamins, placenta contains high levels of CRH ( corticotropin-releasing hormone), known to reduce stress.
2)Consumption of the placenta is also believed to cause the release of the chemical oxytocin in the brain. Oxytocin stimulates uterine contractions leading to the onset of labor, and after childbirth can also cause the uterus to contract and sooner reach its pre-pregnancy size.
DEMERITS...
Risk of spreading blood-borne illness has been noted. This risk is only present in cases of non-maternal placentophagy, where the mother's blood is shared with another human.
Having Known all these, the question remains; will you eat or advice someone to eat placenta?
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