Follow
A recent survey reveals that there is no scientific evidence to back the long-hailed benefits of eating your own placenta shortly after childbirth.
This presumably miracle cure for post-partum depression and lack of breast milk may be a bogus therapy though some celebrities promote it as highly beneficial.
Stars such as Kim Kardashian and Alicia Silverstone claim that they had their own placenta dried and put into capsules, which they consumed shortly after they had given birth in smoothies or their meals for weeks to even months.
Nevertheless, ancient Chinese medicine recommended placenta mixed with breast milk as an instant antidote to postpartum exhaustion.
Modern day celebrities claim that the cure has also helped them bleed less, have more breast milk, alleviated their post partum depression and pain and helped them have a stronger bond with their newborn.
But the new survey shows that very few studies were conducted on the matter and there is little to no evidence to back it up. During the survey, researchers sifted through the scientific data in search for the benefits of placenta consumption.
If the benefits are genuine, women may use their own placenta as a supplement to the antidepressants they take when trying to get rid of their post partum depression, a common disorder that affects one in 8 new moms shortly after their childbirth.
Dr. Crystal Clark, a researcher involved in the survey and reproductive psychiatrist at the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, explained that her team didn’t find scientific evidence either for or against the cure.
While looking for relevant data on the issue, the team found only ten studies on placentophagy, or placenta consumption, which were published in the last 65 years.
A 1954 study revealed that 86 percent of the new moms that had eaten their own placenta after they had freeze-drying it reported their breast milk production improved to “good” or “very good.” On the other hand, Clark noted that the study failed to compare the results with milk production of mothers who didn’t underwent the therapy.
The team reported that they found the strongest evidence on placenta consumption’s benefits in a mouse study that had revealed female mice that ate their own placentas shortly after giving birth seemed to have less pain.
Researchers noted that the agent that alleviated pain didn’t last more than 24 hours at room temperature. But modern day moms usually eat the placenta later and they do not preserve it in a cool place.
Dr. Clark concluded that there were no clear benefits of the therapy. But she doesn’t recommend against it for her patients. She said it is a life-choice, but moms should not forget to take their antidepressants, which were proven to have a benefit.
Image Source: Zoe Bella Birth
