Hello, and happy Thursday!
We’re back to talk about another hot topic – placenta encapsulation. Is it ethical? Is it Biblically permissible? What about the benefits people swear by? What does the research say? Let’s talk about all that and more.
I’m trying to remember when I first heard of placentophagy, or the practice of consuming the placenta after birth. It’s a relatively new practice here in the U.S. I realized I’ve always known about it to some degree, at least in the animal world.
I grew up on a farm, so I’ve known since I was little that most animals eat their placentas after birth. It was just one of weird things things that animals did.
I think I was in nursing school when we talked about placenta encapsulation. I remember thinking, “man, I would never do that. It’s the ick factor for me.” However, as my husband and I started a family, I began to hear about placenta encapsulation more and more.
There are so many different arguments for it and against it, especially when you start thinking about theological ramifications.
What is the Placenta’s Role During Pregnancy?
Let’s discuss the placenta and its role for a second.
The placenta is a pancake-shaped organ that begins to form about a week after fertilization. It connects the mother’s uterine wall to the baby’s umbilical cord. And it’s the gateway by which the baby will receive oxygenated blood from mom up until birth.
It’s actually considered part of baby’s body, since 50% of placental DNA comes from the father.
The placenta functions in the place of several major organs as those organs are developing. Like the lungs, the placenta absorbs oxygen into the bloodstream. Like the kidneys, the placenta filters wastes out of the bloodstream. And like the liver, the placenta processes nutrients.
Once baby is born, the little lungs, kidneys, and liver are mature and ready to function. By several minutes after birth, the baby has no use for the placenta.
Proposed Advantages of Encapsulation
Many women report an easier postpartum after encapsulating and taking their placentas. A lot of women who’ve done it swear by it. They noticed some or all of the following benefits:
- Improved symptoms of hormonal mood disorders
- Increased energy and milk supply
- Better bonding with baby, decreased bleeding, and decreased pain levels after birth
We should note, too, that some women who have taken it notice that they actually feel worse when taking encapsulated placenta. Every woman is different.
Potential Risks of Placenta Encapsulation
Really, there are two risks that researchers point out.
- Risk of infection
- Trace amounts of toxic elements
Bacterial or viral infections are a real risk. In this case, a woman reportedly contracted a group B strep infection after consuming her placenta. She then passed it on to her breastfed baby. The baby ended up being okay, but was hospitalized for a blood infection. (This is not typical. If the placenta is prepared properly, the bacteria is killed.)
The risk of toxic elements is also real. In fact, the placenta filters out waste and heavy metals to keep them from getting to the baby. However, this 2016 study said that the toxic elements they found in encapsulated placenta were well below the danger levels. In other words, the 28 placentas in the study contained elements like arsenic, lead, and mercury. But these elements were at safe levels.
If you’re considering encapsulating, think about your lifestyle and potential exposure to toxic elements. If you are scrupulous with your diet and lifestyle choices, your placenta will probably have lower levels of those elements to start with.
What Does the Research Say?
We really don’t know for sure. The jury is still out on this one, so to speak. Most of the studies are with small groups of mothers, so it’s difficult to say if the study results would apply to everyone.
In the largest study currently available, the University of Nevada found that there was no increased risk of harm to baby with placental ingestion. The researchers looked at hospitalizations, NICU admissions, and death to babies in the first six weeks of life. This study included 23,000 babies, so that’s pretty significant.
All the research indicates that we need more research. Scientists genuinely don’t agree on this topic.
Historical Pespective
While many people belive that placentophagia (eating one’s placenta) is a traditional practice, it’s really not. One researcher states, “There are currently no known, firsthand, ethnographic accounts of placentophagia among humans as a traditional cultural practice. Interest in placentophagy has grown in industrialized cities in the last 50 years.”
Biblical and Ethical Perspective
The Bible actually mentions placentophagia. Although God doesn’t specifically condone or condemn the practice, placentaphagia is mentioned in Deuteronomy 28:57. It’s part of the curse that God promises if Israel chooses to walk away from God.
“The most tender and refined woman among you, who would not venture to set the sole of her foot on the ground because she is so delicate and tender, will begrudge to the husband she embraces,to her son and to her daughter, her afterbirth that comes out from between her feet and her children whom she bears, because lacking everything she will eat them secretly, in the siege and in the distress with which your enemy shall distress you in your towns.” (Deuteronomy 28:56-57)
“Afterbirth” is the traditional word for placenta. More modern translations use the word “placenta” instead of “afterbirth”. So God doesn’t specifically condemn placentophagia. However, He does view it as a curse, something that Hebrew woman will resort to when they are starving to death.
Some people have brought up the argument that consuming a placenta is basically consuming human flesh. One article from The National Post calls the practice “flirting with cannibalism.” Since the placenta has the baby’s DNA, it is technically part of the baby’s body, not the mother’s. So the mother is not simply consuming something that came out of her own body. She is consuming her child’s DNA.
It’s definitely a gray area.
Conclusion
I, personally, am not comfortable with the idea of placental encapsulation. I don’t believe that it’s on par with cannibalism. But I also don’t see huge benefits to it.
However, if you study it out, and you come to a different conclusion, that’s okay. Although relevant, this is not a primary theological issue.
I hope that my study of the issue was helpful, or at the very least, thought provoking. Let me know what your thoughts are. I welcome your feedback!
Until next time,
Lynette