A good friend of mine who is currently pregnant called me on the phone today. “Naomi,” she said. “I want to tell you a secret.”
A secret? I love secrets! “Tell me. What is it?” I asked.
She lowered her voice and whispered, “I’m going to eat my placenta.”
“WHAT?” I practically screamed into the phone. My mind was spinning. Did people really eat placentas? I had never heard of this before. “Are you kidding me? Doesn’t that make you some kind of cannibal … or something?”
“I know. I know. It’s kind of weird. But seriously, it’s good for you,” she replied. She was talking very fast. Clearly very excited. She then began to name off the many extraordinary and fabulous benefits she would receive from dining on her own flesh.
According to her, placenta-eating (also known as placentophagy if you want to get scientific) has been practiced throughout history all over the world. Innumerable benefits are received by the mother who feasts on her own afterbirth. Hormonal regulation. Cessation of postpartum bleeding. Less risk for postpartum depression. Increased breastmilk production. Decreased likelihood for sleep disorders and insomnia. Energy replenishment. Vitamins and minerals. The glorious list seemed almost never-ending.
She explained that the placenta is like a superfood specific to the mother whose body produced it, similar to the way breastmilk regulates perfectly to the baby it is designed for. All the vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients that that were pulled from your body to nourish the baby now lay dormant in the placenta, just waiting for you to enjoy them. “The placenta is a powerful medicine and life force. If anyone else eats it, it’s just a healthy treat. But for the mother who just gave birth to it—it’s like manna from heaven,” she said enthusiastically.
“Yeah,” I replied. “Manna from heaven that just squirted out of your vagina. I mean seriously, are you going to make chili out of it, or what?” (I was kidding.)
“That’s funny you asked,” sounding more and more enthusiastic by the minute. “There are so many delicious ways to prepare placenta,” she informed me. “Placenta lasagna, placenta tacos, filet of placenta, placenta stew, placenta pot pie, roast placenta, placenta tartare, placenta cocktail, and yes, placenta chili is quite popular, so I hear.”
Uh huh. Quite popular. Quite popular indeed. I can only imagine.
But seriously, this friend of mine is really quite educated. A talented and successful midwife, she knows quite a lot about organic natural remedies and healing techniques for pregnant and postpartum mothers. And what could be more organic than gobbling up a tasty placenta stew?
After hanging up with her, I felt moved to do a little research of my own on the Internet about placenta consumption. Or placentophagy. Or cannibalism. Or whatever. I was surprised to find that placenta eating is actually a lot more common that I thought. There were so many websites expounding on the advantages of chowing on afterbirth, that I had to stop reading after my eyes began to go numb.
Not only does it sound like placenta-eating is really quite good for you—people who have actually dined on placenta claim that it is actually a tasty treat. Whole families on the Web were featured enthusiastically savoring the delightful flavors of enticing dishes like placenta stroganoff, placenta pizza, placenta fajitas, placenta curry, placenta pancakes, placenta popsicles, you name it. According to the placenta advocates, it doesn’t taste like chicken. But it does taste kind of liverish, with a chewy but not tough consistency.
I began to wonder if I had missed out by not making a meal out of the proceeds from my Cesarean section. How had I failed to learn about this powerful life-force that was right at my fingertips … er … I mean vagina lips.
Anyway, after doing my research I wanted to apologize to my friend for sounding so uneducated and ignorant when she had divulged her secret to me earlier. “I’m sorry,” I told her. “It sounds like placenta-eating is really quite … um … healthy and nourishing … and doesn’t even make you a cannibal at all. Did you decide how you … uh … want to prepare it?”
“Yes!” she replied, sounding greatly relieved that I was now on-board with her placenta plan. “My mom has offered to cook it any way I want. But you know what?”
I was on the edge of my seat. “What?” I said, unable to imagine what exotic dish she was going to ask her mom to prepare.
“I think I’m going to eat it raw.”
About Naomi De La Torre
I think I’m going to be sick. Seriously. Ack!
Excellent, thoughtful piece. I’ve heard it does wonders for PPD. I have a friend who helps new moms with encapsulation. Perhaps that’s a bit more – pardon the pun – palatable to people, having it look like a pill rather than a chunk o’meat?
A friend of mine had someone come to her house and prepare her placenta after the baby was born. I think it was dehydrated, ground and then put into little capsules and she said that they really did make a difference. She could really tell when she took them and when she didn’t. Oh, this is is exactly what I think Marla just said, above me. Yeah… probably better than chicken friend placenta. Although… chicken fried anything is usually pretty good so maybe that’s a bag example… Ew. Sorry.
Twitter Name: badkittybakery
That is it! Next baby, I am having a placenta eating dinner party and you are ALL invited to partake. I know me and I probably have the largest placenta in the history of the world ( because I just always go big or go home..Im an overachiever like that). I’ll make a placenta souffle, a placenta mousse, a placenta pate and a little placenta with fava beans served with a a nice glass of Chianti. You in?:)LOL
*Disclaimer; there will NEVER be another baby born from this vajayjay.SO,,,no worries.
Twitter Name: Truthfulmommy
Um, there was another blogger…..who actually did this and blogged the whole thing. Complete w/ pics. It looked like beef jerky.
Twitter Name: erinmargolin
To each their own but I’m seriously thankful that I’m well past the “having babies” stage of my life. I’ll store this little tidbit in the same place I stored a bit of advice from my mother-in-law when I had my first baby.
“If he’s got his days and nights confused just dangle him by his ankles then flip him around once in a full 360° turn then halfway until he’s facing you. Then he’ll sleep through the night instead of being awake.”
Thankfully I divorced her son.
Twitter Name: thejerseywife
To each their own, but personally, I’ll just have a multivitamin and some Prozac thankyouverymuch.
Twitter Name: thepsychobabble
I’m actually at a loss of words, when you listed all of the different ways…I thought I was going to lose my dinner. whoa.
Twitter Name: glamnellie
Unless a naked Ryan Reynolds riding a golden unicorn who shits diamonds magically appears after eating it, I’m going to pass on the placenta parmigiana.
Twitter Name: chickybaby
Oh.My.Gawd. I think I’m going to be sick….
Twitter Name: krisy0987
I’ve heard of this before, and more power to the people that want to do this, but – no.
If I want to become one with myself, I’ll take yoga. Or eat cookies or something.
Twitter Name: JWMoxie
I almost wish I’d eaten my placenta now…it sounds amazing. I had post natal depression and if that could have cured it, I’d have done it.
What an interesting post.
Twitter Name: littleanimation
ohhhh now I think I am going to go throw up….
Twitter Name: 5minutesformom
ewwwww…. is all I have to say! bleh… I could NEVER do that.
Um. Wow. Although I’d give it a whirl if it was in capsule form.
Twitter Name: msmegan
This sort of reminds me of C. Thomas Howell drinking a cup of blood from the deer he shoots in Red Dawn because his brother (Patrick Swayze) tells him to, except way grosser. Not sure how his breastfeeding went after that.
Twitter Name: Chase_McFadden
I have a strict rule against eating anything that comes from my woo-haa. If I were dying in a desert somewhere and had just given birth, maybe I might be crazy enough to do that but otherwise no thanks. To each her own though, if it works for you great!
Twitter Name: mommauniversity