Human placentophagy: Effects of dehydration and steaming on hormones, metals and bacteria in placental tissue

Comparison of placenta consumers' and non-consumers' postpartum depression screening results using EPDS in US community birth settings (n=6038): a propensity score analysis

BACKGROUND

Preventing postpartum depression (PPD) is the most common self-reported motivation for human maternal placentophagy, yet very little systematic research has assessed mental health following placenta consumption. Our aim was to compare PPD screening scores of placenta consumers and non-consumers in a community birth setting, using propensity score matching to address anticipated extensive confounding.

METHODS

We used a medical records-based data set (n = 6038) containing pregnancy, birth, and postpartum information for US women who planned and completed community births. We first compared PPD screening scores as measured by the Edinburgh Postpartum Depression Scale (EPDS) of individuals who consumed their placenta to those who did not, with regard to demographics, pregnancy characteristics, and history of mental health challenges. Matching placentophagic (n = 1876) and non-placentophagic (n = 1876) groups were then created using propensity scores. The propensity score model included more than 90 variables describing medical and obstetric history, demographics, pregnancy characteristics, and intrapartum and postpartum complications, thus addressing confounding by all of these variables. We then used logistic regression to compare placentophagic to non-placentophagic groups based on commonly-cited EPDS cutoff values (≥ 11; ≥ 13) for likely PPD.

RESULTS

In the unmatched and unadjusted analysis, placentophagy was associated with an increased risk of PPD. In the matched sample, 9.9% of women who ate their placentas reported EPDS ≥ 11, compared to 8.4% of women who did not (5.5% and 4.8%, respectively, EPDS ≥ 13 or greater). After controlling for over 90 variables (including prior mental health challenges) in the matched and adjusted analysis, placentophagy was associated with an increased risk of PPD between 15 and 20%, depending on the published EPDS cutoff point used. Numerous sensitivity analyses did not alter this general finding.

CONCLUSIONS

Placentophagic individuals in our study scored higher on an EPDS screening than carefully matched non-placentophagic controls. Why placentophagic women score higher on the EPDS remains unclear, but we suspect reverse causality plays an important role. Future research could assess psychosocial factors that may motivate some individuals to engage in placentophagy, and that may also indicate greater risk of PPD.

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.

Impact of tissue processing on microbiological colonization in the context of placentophagy

A mother’s postpartum ingestion of raw or processed placental tissue—referred to as human maternal placentophagy—is an emerging health trend observed in industrialized nations. Placenta is commonly consumed as small pieces of raw tissue, or as raw or steamed dehydrated pulverized and encapsulated tissue. To investigate the potential neonatal health risks of this behavior, the present study focused on microbial colonization of processed placenta preparations with potentially pathogenic bacteria Streptococcus agalactiae (Group-B-Streptococci; GBS) and Escherichia coli (E. coli). In the clinical approach placentas from 24 mothers were analyzed. Two placentas, from 13 mothers with confirmed positive maternal GBS status, showed GBS-growth on their surface (2/13; 15.4%) independent from delivery mode or antibiotic treatment. All processed samples (n = 24) were free from GBS. In the experimental approach, a standardized inoculation protocol was introduced to resemble ascending vaginal and hematogenous colonization. Six placentas from elective term C-sections of GBS negative mothers were collected and artificially inoculated with highly concentrated suspensions of GBS and E. coli. Heat processing significantly reduced the number of colony forming units (CFU) for GBS and E. coli. Our results suggest placentophagy of processed tissue is an unlikely source of clinical infection.

Maternal, fetal and placental regulation of placental iron trafficking

The human placenta is a highly specialized organ that is responsible for housing, protecting, and nourishing the fetus across gestation. The placenta is essential as it functions among other things as the liver, lungs, and gut while also playing key immunological and endocrine roles. The structure and transport capacity of this temporary organ must evolve as gestation progresses while also adapting to possible alterations in maternal nutrient availability. All nutrients needed by the developing fetus must cross the human placenta. Iron (Fe) is one such nutrient that is both integral to placental function and to successful pregnancy outcomes. Iron deficiency is among the most common nutrient deficiencies globally and pregnant women are particularly vulnerable. Data on the partitioning of Fe between the mother, placenta and fetus are evolving yet many unanswered questions remain. Hepcidin, erythroferrone and erythropoietin are regulatory hormones that are integral to iron homeostasis. The mother, fetus and placenta independently produce these hormones, but the relative function of these hormones varies in each of the maternal, placental, and fetal compartments. This review will summarize basic aspects of Fe physiology in pregnant women and the maternal, fetal, and placental adaptations that occur to maintain Fe homeostasis at this key life stage.

Dried bovine placenta improves spermatozoa count in a rat model of male reproductive aging

Background and Aim:

In the male reproductive system, the aging process can lead to infertility. Recently, placenta and its derivatives have been researched as regenerative agents. This study aimed to describe the basic components of dried bovine placenta powder and its potential effects as a regenerative agent in a rat model of male reproductive aging with D-galactose induction.

Materials and Methods:

We divided 15 male Wistar rats, 2 months of age, into three groups: A, the health control group; B, the D-galactose induction group, and C, the D-galactose induction and 10% dried bovine placenta supplementation group. We measured epididymal sperm concentration and testicular weight and volume and analyzed these using one-way analysis of variance.

Results:

Dried bovine placenta was rich in nutrients, with 61.98% protein, 21.25±2.07 carbohydrates, 8.58% water, 4.93% ash, and 3.27% fat. The mean epididymal spermatozoa concentration of the rats in Groups A, B, and C was 3026×10⁶/mL, 1492.8×10⁶/mL, and 2732.5×10⁶/mL, respectively. The average total testicle weights were 2.44 g, 2.72 g, and 2.57 g, respectively. The average total testicle volumes were 2.29 cm³, 2.49 cm³, and 2.33cm³, respectively.

Conclusion:

Dried bovine placenta powder is rich in nutrients, especially protein. Supplementation with dried bovine placenta can improve epididymal spermatozoa concentration that is important in fertility.

Supercritical Fluid-Based Decellularization Technologies for Regenerative Medicine Applications

Supercritical fluid-based extraction technologies are currently being increasingly utilized in high purity extract products for food industries. In recent years, supercritical fluid-based extraction technology is transformed in biomaterials process fields to be further utilized for tissue engineering and other biomedical applications. In particular, supercritical fluid-based decellularization protocols have great advantage over the conventional decellularization as it may allow preservation of extracellular matrix components and structures. In this review, the latest technological development utilizing the supercritical fluid-based decellularization for regenerative medicine is introduced.

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.

A proposed sample handling of ovine cotyledon for proteomic studies

Ovine trophoblast is a suitable material for placental studies. However, a universal protocol for handling ruminant cotyledon samples has still not been reported. Considering the villous structure of ovine cotyledon, we suggest procedures to prepare cotyledons with limited inherent contamination, using semi-dry conditions to avoid freezing damage and sample errors. The cytosolic water-soluble proteins were physically extracted from the frozen cotyledons. High homogeneity was demonstrated between the replicates of both tissue and extract samples. Importantly, the chemical lysis of placental crude extracts was necessary for protein separation and immunoreaction. The integrity of stored tissues was histologically validated using a formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded technique. Using label-free proteomics, we detected 388 Ovis protein-groups in at least two of three biological replicates of either the tissue or extract. Although the water-soluble proteins were dominated by hemoglobin subunits, ten proteins were identified exclusively in all extract replicates. The physical extraction selectively reduced the membrane, extracellular matrix, and cytoskeleton proteins. The hydrolase enzymes, in the extract, hindered the identification of some specific proteins, such as histone H2A. In summary, the proposed workflow may guide further proteomic investigations of ovine cotyledon biology. Furthermore, our proteomic data have inferred some potential mechanisms of ovine trophoblast at parturition.

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.