Consumption of the Placenta in the Postpartum Period

Alternate Birth Strategies

Community birth is defined as birth that occurs outside the hospital setting. Birthing in a birth center can be safe for certain patient populations. Home birth can also be safe in well-selected patient with a well-established transfer infrastructure should an emergency occur. Unfortunately, many areas of the United States and the world do not have this infrastructure, limiting access to safe community birth. Immersion during labor has been associated with decreased need for epidural and pain medication. Delivery should not occur in water due to concerns for infection and cord avulsion. Umbilical cord non-severance (also called lotus birth) and placentophagy should be counseled against due to well-documented risks without clear benefit. Birth plans and options should be regularly discussed during pregnancy visits.

Placentophagia and the Tao of POEF

Placentophagia, ingestion of placenta and amniotic fluid, usually during parturition, is a behavioral feature of nearly all nonaquatic, placental mammals, and is a nexus for several interlocking behavioral phenomena. Placentophagia has not been typical of human cultures, but in recent years, some women in affluent societies have engaged in it, thereby bringing publicity to the behavior. First, we summarized benefits of placentophagia for nonhuman mammals, which include increased attractiveness of neonates, enhanced onset of maternal behavior, suppression of pseudopregnancy, and enhancement of opioid hypoalgesia by Placental Opioid-Enhancing Factor (POEF), a benefit that may extend well outside the context of parturition. The research on POEF in animals was discussed in detail. Then we discussed placentophagia (placentophagy) in humans, and whether there is validity to the claims of various benefits reported primarily in the pro-placentophagy literature, and, although human afterbirth shows POEF activity, the POEF effect has not yet been tested in humans. Finally, we discussed the general possible implications, for the management of pain and addiction, of isolating and characterizing POEF.

Evaluation of Antiaging Effect of Sheep Placenta Extract Using SAMP8 Mice

Widely used in traditional medicine, sheep placenta extract (SPE) is known for its physiological effects such as wound healing, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory properties. However, the effect of SPE on antiaging is still unclear. In this study, we investigated the effect of SPE on aging through the senescence-accelerated mouse prone 8 (SAMP8) strain. We designed an experiment using both male and female mice randomly divided into 4 groups (n = 10) as follows: Group A—control group; Group B—low-dose SPE (61.5 mg/kg BW/day); Group C—medium-dose SPE (123 mg/kg BW/day); and Group D—high-dose SPE (184.5 mg/kg BW/day). As a result of measuring the aging index parameters such as skin glossiness, spine lordosis, and kyphosis, it was found that the treatment of SPE lowered the aging index. In addition, we found that biochemical parameters such as lactic acid, glucose, ketone bodies, free fatty acids, tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), and interleukin 6 (IL-6) were not changed in the experimental group treated with SPE for 13 weeks. Finally, we found that lipid peroxidation (LPO) was decreased, while the activities of catalase and superoxide dismutase (SOD) were significantly increased in the brain tissues of SPE-treated male and female mice. Supplementation of SPE lowered the oxidative stress caused by the aging process in mice without toxicity and decreased the aging index, suggesting the value of SPE as an effective antiaging treatment.

The Real Story Behind Maternal Health of North Korea

INTRODUCTION

Despite the emphasis on more systematic and high-quality health care services in the maternal period, a high maternal mortality rate in developing countries is still reported. North Korea, one of the closed countries in the world, is no exception. This study aimed to explore the maternal health experiences in North Korea.

METHODOLOGY

Qualitative content analysis suggested by Graneheim and Lundman was used to analyze the data of 10 female North Korean defectors.

RESULTS

Three categories were derived: pregnancy without self-determination rights, a huge gap between the policies on maternal protection and the reality, and discriminatory childbirth and postpartum care. The theme was "perilous existence of maternal health."

DISCUSSION

We highlighted the need for awareness of maternity protection led by health care professionals such as nurses to guarantee Universal Health Coverage as a human right for North Korean women.

Alternative Birth Plans and Unintended Maternal and Neonatal Consequences: A Review of the Literature

Importance

Birth plans are an important part of childbirth preparation for many women.

Objective

The aim of this review was to discuss some common requests, specifically home birth, water birth, placentophagy, lotus birth, vaccination refusal, and vaginal seeding, including evidence-based recommendations, perceived benefits, and potential maternal and neonatal consequences.

Evidence Acquisition

A literature search for each topic was undertaken using PubMed and Web of Science. For the home birth section, the MeSH terms home AND birth OR childbirth AND outcomes OR complications OR recommendations OR guidelines were used. For the vaccination section, birth OR childbirth OR maternal AND vaccination refusal were searched. For the remainder of the sections, umbilical cord AND nonseverance OR placentophagy OR vaginal seeding OR lotus birth were searched. A total of 523 articles were identified. The abstracts were reviewed by 2 authors (J.R.W. and J.A.R.); 60 of these articles were selected and used for this review.

Results

Home birth is currently not recommended in the United States. Immersion in water for labor is acceptable, but delivery should not occur in water. Placentophagy and lotus birth should be discouraged because of risk of neonatal infection. Vaccines should be administered in accordance with national guidelines. Vaginal seeding should be discouraged until more is known about the practice.

Conclusions and Relevance

These evidence-based recommendations provide clear guidance for physicians so that the birthing experience can be enhanced for both mother and neonate without compromising safety.

Relevance Statement

This is an evidence-based literature review of alternative birth plans and recommendations for directive counseling.

Consumption of Maternal Placenta in Humans and Nonhuman Mammals: Beneficial and Adverse Effects

Placentophagia is a common mammalian behavior, and the first scientific study of the potential effects of human maternal placentophagia on lactation was in 1917. More recently, in the 1970s, human placentophagia was reported in North America with a trend toward increased consumption. There are different hypotheses about the women and nonhuman mammals' motivation towards placentophagia, but few have been subject to hypotheses testing. In women, the controversy continues; on the one hand, researchers attribute benefits like increased breast milk, weight gain in newborns, decreased postpartum depression and fatigue, and improved mothers' mood. In contrast, bacterial or viral infections, hormonal, or trace elements that could become toxic for both the mother and baby are reported as possible health risks. Other reports argue a lack of scientific rigor to support the self-reported benefits of placentophagia. Also, the way the placenta is prepared (raw, cooked, dehydrated, processed, or encapsulated) alters its components, and thus the desired effects. This review provides relevant information and the different hypotheses and points of view around placentophagia. However, there are still questions to be resolved, and more studies are needed to confirm or reject the data generated so far about placentophagia in humans and nonhuman mammals.

Planned home births: The role of the primary care NP

Over the past 15 years, there has been a steady resurgence of planned home births in the US. Multiple factors may impact health outcomes for mother and baby. NPs have the opportunity to provide reliable information to women to help ensure a safe delivery and to optimize care for the neonate.

Birth, attitudes and placentophagy: a thematic discourse analysis of discussions on UK parenting forums

BACKGROUND

The post-partum consumption of the placenta by the mother (placentophagy) has been practiced since the 1970s in the global North and is seemingly increasing in popularity. Maternal placentophagy is not known to have been practiced in any other time period or culture, despite being near-ubiquitous in other placental mammals. An in-depth qualitative exploration as to the reasons for the practice, its increasing popularity and how it is narratively incorporated into discourses surrounding "ideal" natural and medical births are given in this paper.

METHODS

1752 posts from 956 users across 85 threads from the parenting forums Mumsnet and Netmums were identified for inclusion. A thematic discourse analysis was performed using NVivo.

RESULTS

Three main themes were identified: women recounted predominantly positive attitudes towards their own experiences of placentophagy, and they were respectful of others' views and experiences; some had negative views, particularly around the concept of disgust, but again, they were respectful of others' experiences. By far the most common method of consumption of the placenta was encapsulation.

CONCLUSIONS

This paper identifies the motivation for placentophagy to almost universally be for medical benefits, most commonly the prevention or treatment of post-natal depression (PND). Whilst disgust is a common reaction, discussion of risks is rare, and positive experiences outweigh negative ones. The increasing popularity of the practice is ascribed in part to the comparative palatability of encapsulation and the use of the internet to share resources and remove barriers. Parenting forums are important spaces to negotiate normative birth practices, including placentophagy, and act to build communities of women who value personal experience over medical evidence and highly value personal choice and bodily autonomy. Placentophagy is discussed in terms of its relation to natural and medical births with arguments being made using both discourses for and against the practice. This paper argues that placentophagy is practiced as a resistance to medicalisation as an assertion of control by the mother, whilst simultaneously being a medicalised phenomenon itself.

Placenta - Worth Trying? Human Maternal Placentophagia: Possible Benefit and Potential Risks

The use of placenta preparations as an individual puerperal remedy can be traced back to historical, traditional practices in Western and Asian medicine. To evaluate the ingestion of processed placenta as a puerperal remedy, the potential risks (trace elements, microorganisms) and possible benefit (hormones in the placental tissue) of such a practice are discussed in this article based on a literature review.

Perspectives from Patients and Healthcare Providers on the Practice of Maternal Placentophagy

PURPOSE

Placentophagy (maternal consumption of the placenta) has become increasingly prevalent in the past decade among women seeking to promote health and healing during the postpartum period. The purpose of this study was to assess patient and provider familiarity with and attitudes toward placentophagy, as well as patients' willingness to try placentophagy.

METHODS

Two cross-sectional surveys with questions regarding placentophagy practice were distributed to healthcare providers and patients. The provider survey was distributed via email listservers to international perinatal professional organizations and to obstetrics and gynecology, nurse midwifery, family medicine, and psychiatry departments at three urban hospitals. Patient surveys were administered in person at an urban hospital in Chicago, Illinois.

RESULTS

Approximately two thirds (66%; n = 100) of patients and most (89%; n = 161) of providers were familiar with placentophagy. Patients with a history of a self-reported mental health disorder were more likely to be willing to consider placentophagy and to believe that healthcare providers should discuss it with their patients.

CONCLUSIONS

Most providers and patients have heard of placentophagy but are unsure of its benefits and/or risks. Further research examining the potential therapeutic efficacy and/or risks of placentophagy is needed.

Presence and concentration of 17 hormones in human placenta processed for encapsulation and consumption

Human maternal placentophagy is a rare but growing practice in several industrialized countries among postpartum mothers seeking a variety of purported health benefits attributed to the practice. These postpartum mothers typically consume their placenta as a processed, encapsulated supplement. To determine whether free (unconjugated) steroid hormones and melatonin in placenta can survive the encapsulation process (namely steaming and dehydration), we analyzed 28 placenta samples processed for encapsulation using liquid chromatography tandem-mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) to evaluate the concentration of 17 hormones. The results revealed detectable concentrations for 16 of the hormones analyzed, some in concentrations that could conceivably yield physiological effects.