Ingesting placenta could mitigate Postpartum Depression

Pregnancy & Childbirth | USA Today Examines Practice of Ingesting Placenta To Mitigate Postpartum Depression
[Jul 20, 2007]

USA Today on Thursday examined the practice known as placentophagy, in which the placenta of a pregnant woman is saved, dried and emulsified, then placed in gelatin capsules and taken by the mother in the months after childbirth. Hospitals usually store placentas for a few days to allow for testing if there is a postpregnancy complication but then destroy them, according to USA Today. Some hospitals regard placentas as "hazardous medical waste" and are reluctant to let women keep them, while other hospitals allow women to keep the organ, USA Today reports.

According to USA Today, the practice of ingesting placenta "is far from widespread" and has been received with "great skepticism by more traditional medical experts." However, a "small but vocal contingent" of pregnant women and advocates "strongly" believe that the placenta is "rich in chemicals that can help mitigate fluctuations in hormones believed to cause postpartum depression," USA Today reports.

"I feel that it is what we as women are meant to do with the placenta," Jodi Selander -- who provides the encapsulation service at no cost to clients and is collecting testimonials of women who have ingested placenta for her Web site placentabenefits.info -- said, adding that other mammals eat their placentas. Mark Kristal -- a professor at State University of New York-Buffalo, who focused his 1971 doctoral dissertation on why animals eat their placentas -- said, "People can believe what they want, but there's no research to substantiate claims of human benefit." He added, "The cooking process will destroy all the protein and the hormones. ... Drying it out or freezing it would destroy other things."

Selander said she has sought FDA guidance but received no clear answers. FDA spokesperson Kris Mejia said the agency considers some statements on Selander's Web site to be unsubstantiated medical claims and will be reviewing the matter. "Human placental capsules that make treatment claims ... must be accompanied by well-designed and controlled clinical studies to support approval/licensure," Mejia wrote in an e-mail (Friess, USA Today, 7/19).