In Nigeria, the placenta holds serious cultural and spiritual significance.
Culturally and religiously, the placenta is believed to have spiritual attachment to the baby and so must be disposed of carefully.
Different cultures have different ways of disposing of the placenta. In some, it is buried or thrown in a flowing water body. While it is buried just anywhere in some cultures, in others, it is buried close to water, in the belief that the coolness of the water will make life cool and easy for the child. In some cultures, a tree is planted at the spot where it is buried and that tree belongs to the child. Those who do this believe that the child flourishes as the tree flourishes.
Great care is, therefore, taken in disposing of the placenta as it is believed that any mishap in its handling may affect a child for life.
This may however be changing as a new fad, Placentophagy is increasingly becoming popular across the world.
Placentophagy is the act of eating one’s own placenta after giving birth.
The placenta is an organ that nourishes the growing foetus in pregnant women by exchanging nutrients and oxygen and filtering waste products through the umbilical cord.
After a woman has given birth, the placenta comes out of the birth canal vaginally in the case of a vaginal birth or by a surgeon in the case of a caesarean birth. This process is called placental expulsion.
Placentophagy was made famous by celebrity, Kim Kardashian in 2015 after the birth of her second child, North.
The celebrity, while sharing her after-baby diet regimen with fans on her blog, revealed that she was eating her placenta as a way to ward off post-partum depression.
Even though she didn’t literally cook and eat it, she had the placenta freeze-dried and made into pills, following in the footsteps of her older sister, Kourtney.
Explaining why she made the decision, Kardashian said, “I heard so many stories when I was pregnant with North of moms who never ate their placenta with their first baby and then had postpartum depression, but then when they took the pills with their second baby, they did not suffer from depression!”
Those involved in placentophagy either dry the placenta to create capsule pills which they take, eat the placenta raw, cooked, or blend it in smoothies or make liquid extracts out of it.
They claim placentophagy prevents postpartum depression; reduces postpartum bleeding; improves mood, energy and milk supply; and provides important micronutrients, such as iron, even though the claims are not backed by any known scientific research.
Despite this, the practice is fast gaining popularity, even in Nigeria, with some women supporting the practice.
One woman, Ifeatu Ngozi (not real name) in defence of the practice, said since animals eat it, she is convinced that there are possibly some health benefits humans aren’t yet aware of and so she’s open to trying it.
Another Nigerian woman, Temitope Ade, who had her baby in Canada, said doctors asked her if she wanted to donate the placenta after she had her baby.
“They said they use it to cure those with red blood cells and bone marrow disease. I later got to know that a lot of people donate theirs for that purpose,” she stated.
Another woman, Ifeoma said even though she’ll never try it, her friend, a white lady, made smoothies out of hers and she saw her drink them dedicatedly.
A mother, who preferred anonymity, said while she didn’t try it with her previous births, she is curious and willing to try it when next she has a baby even as she called for more research for humans, on the practice.
“I always suggest dried version (encapsulation) to be sure it’s free of germs. I’ll try it next time to compare my postpartum healing with previous ones,” she added.
A father, Joe Gbee, however likened eating ones placenta to cannibalism, saying it is part of the human body.
“Anyone who eats their placenta is capable of eating human flesh, including the baby they have given birth to. It is something that comes out of the human body and no matter the justification or benefits to be derived from it, I will never encourage my wife or any other woman to eat it,” he stated.
The US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention had issued a warning against taking placenta capsules due to a case in which a new born developed group B streptococcus (group B strep) after the mother took placenta pills containing group B strep and breast-fed her new born.
The mother’s breast milk was thought to be infected from group B strep bacteria that she acquired after eating her infected placenta. Group B strep can cause serious illness in new borns.
It concluded that there’s no evidence that eating the placenta provides health benefits, adding that these preparations don’t completely destroy infectious bacteria and viruses that the placenta might contain.
A United States based obstetrician / gynaecologist, Nkechi Ezirim, while sharing her opinion on the issue with her followers on her Instagram page, in one of her health education posts, said placentophagy is an old practice which those engaged in have claimed has different benefits, even though no real study has verified any of the claims.
“Yes, the placenta acts as a source of nutrients for the baby but that’s while still attached during pregnancy as the human body of the pregnant person supplies/supports it. After pregnancy, there is no support so it becomes a possible source of infection and we have seen a few babies come in because their mothers ate an infected placenta or the baby was still attached to the placenta. The risk of this is higher when it is eaten raw, uncooked and/frozen,” she said.
Ezirim likened eating the placenta, especially one left on the baby to fall off by itself, which can usually take five to 15 days, in lotus birth practice, to eating raw meat that has been left on the kitchen counter for days.
“But in this case, you are connecting all this dead meat directly to the baby.
“While the placenta is an organ, its function and great service is because it was attached to the mother – a living
being. So now that it is detached from the mother, it is mostly a dead tissue and a source of infection. Leaving it connected to the baby means the baby can get infected.
“Imagine leaving meat on the kitchen counter for days. What will happen to this meat after a few days? It becomes spoiled/rotten right? Would you rub this meat on your baby’s skin? No.”
She said even though some animals eat their placentas after birth, humans shouldn’t because they are not animals.
Commenting on the fad, a senior medical officer at the Benue State Hospitals Management Board, Dr Iorember Chiahemba, said even though it was unimaginable that women in this clime would be interested in placentogaphy, it was important to educate those who may be involved in it or considering it that there is no scientific backing concerning its acclaimed benefits, including the prevention of postpartum depression or bleeding.
“The placenta is like a sieve that prevents most infectious bacteria and viruses from the infecting the baby. Eating it in any form or preparation increases the chances of transmitting such to the baby via breast milk,” he stated.
