Your placenta is an incredible organ that nourished your baby during her time in utero. So instead of wasting those valuable nutrients by throwing the placenta away after she’s born, does it make more sense to put them back into your body?
That’s the thinking behind placenta encapsulation — the trend of turning the placenta into pills and consuming them postpartum.
Fans of the practice say that taking placenta pills can boost your energy and mood postpartum and even help increase your milk supply. But there’s little science behind placenta encapsulation, and it has some serious risks. Here’s what you should know if you’re thinking about giving it a try.
What is placenta encapsulation?
Placenta encapsulation is a process where a whole placenta is transformed into pills that can be taken postpartum. It’s one of a few different ways to eat the placenta, but it’s by far the most popular. In fact, 70 to 80 percent of moms who eat their placentas opt for encapsulation.
Is placenta encapsulation safe?
It might not seem like there are any real downsides to placenta encapsulation at first. But taking placenta pills can pose some significant health risks, in part because there aren’t any standards in place for the encapsulation process.
Improperly encapsulated placentas can harbor dangerous bacteria that have the potential to make you and your baby sick, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). (If you’re breastfeeding, an infection you catch could be passed on to your baby.)
Placenta consumption can also expose you to environmental toxins like heavy metals that accumulate in the placenta during pregnancy, even when the pills are prepared safely.
Are there benefits to taking pills made from your own placenta, and why do some moms do it?
The placenta is loaded with vitamins and minerals like vitamin B6, vitamin B12 and iron. It’s also rich in reproductive hormones like estrogen and progesterone that drop after you give birth. So theoretically, consuming your placenta (whole or in pill form) seems like it would be really good for you.
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Supporters of the practice say that placenta pills can help prevent anemia, boost milk supply, balance hormones and even lower your chances of having postpartum depression. Indeed, one small survey of women who’d eaten their placentas found that 40 percent reported improvements in their mood, 26 percent reported more energy and less fatigue, 15 percent said breastfeeding had gotten better and 7 percent reported less vaginal bleeding and discharge.
The problem is that there’s not much science to support these claims. A review of the research concluded that most of the studies on the benefits of placenta consumption are poor quality.
The one randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study — considered the gold standard in scientific circles — found that taking placenta pills had no impact on a woman’s postpartum iron levels. And there’s zero evidence supporting the notion that placenta encapsulation can prevent or treat postpartum depression.
So why do so many new moms seem to feel better after eating pills made from their placenta? It all comes down to the placebo effect, experts say. If you expect to feel good after eating your placenta, you’ll probably feel that way.
Is placenta encapsulation the same thing as eating the placenta?
Placenta encapsulation is one way to eat the placenta. It is also sometimes consumed raw, cooked, roasted, dehydrated or even distilled into a tincture. Currently, there’s no evidence that one method of eating the placenta is any more beneficial than the others.
How is placenta encapsulation done?
In the placenta encapsulation process, the placenta is steamed, dehydrated, ground into a powder and sealed in vitamin-size capsules. There are companies that will do it for you, and if you work with a doula, she might offer the service as well. Some moms opt to find instructions online and go the DIY route.
What are the risks or potential downsides?
Placenta encapsulation comes with some serious risks that are important to know about:
Infections
Placentas are raw, blood-filled organs that can easily be contaminated. They aren’t sterile, and placenta encapsulation doesn’t kill harmful pathogens.
That means that if a woman has an intrauterine infection, she might re-expose herself to the bacteria or virus when she consumes her placenta pills. And if she’s breastfeeding, that infection could get passed on to her baby. In fact, a recent CDC report highlighted a case where a mom and her baby both got sick from group B strep (GBS) in her placenta pills.
There can also be a risk for infection if the placenta gets contaminated during the encapsulation process — if it wasn’t refrigerated properly, for example.
Exposure to heavy metals
Heavy metals like lead, arsenic and mercury accumulate in the placenta during pregnancy, and they show up in placenta pills. Consuming the pills can expose you to low doses of these metals, which could potentially be harmful if you take the pills over a long period of time.
Decreased milk supply
Some fans of placenta encapsulation say that placenta pills can boost milk supply. But there’s no research to back this up, and in fact, the opposite is just as likely to be true. That’s because the placenta contains the pregnancy hormone progesterone, which inhibits the production of the milk-producing hormone prolactin.
Blood clots
Women have a higher chance of developing harmful blood clots in the early weeks after giving birth. Placenta pills could heighten this risk, since the placenta contains the hormone estrogen, which increases levels of clotting factors in blood.
How much does placenta encapsulation cost?
Prices vary widely. You can expect to pay anywhere from $125 to $425 to have a company or doula encapsulate your placenta.
If you choose to go the DIY route, you’ll have to cover the cost of the equipment (like a dehydrator, rubber gloves, capsules, a capsule machine and a jar for storing the pills).
Should you try placenta encapsulation?
The CDC says that placenta encapsulation should be avoided. Consuming placenta pills has the potential to pose serious health risks to you and your baby. Plus, the science shows that there aren’t any measurable benefits.
If you’re thinking about encapsulating your placenta, it’s important to first weigh the risks and benefits with your doctor. And if you’re delivering at a hospital or birthing center, be sure to find out if it will allow you to take your placenta home or send it off for processing. (Most will, but you'll likely have to sign some paperwork.)
Placenta encapsulation might be trendy. But there’s no good evidence to back up the supposed benefits — and consuming placenta pills can pose real risks to you and your baby. If you think you might want to have your placenta encapsulated, be sure to talk with your doctor first.
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