Natural remedies are gaining popularity — whether you’d call yourself “crunchy” or not. From the beginning, God has provided herbs, minerals, flowers, oils, and more to help heal our bodies and minds. One practice that’s drawn both curiosity and scrutiny is placenta consumption — the act of a mother consuming her baby’s placenta in the postpartum period.

There are a few claimed benefits of placenta consumption. From increased iron levels to decreased postpartum depression, advocates of placenta consumption encourage mothers to keep their baby’s placenta postpartum, process it, and then ingest it.

But, is there any research to support consuming the placenta? And does the Church have anything to say about it? I know this can be a tricky subject to discuss, but I pray that this article simply gives you more to consider while you decide what is right for you and your family.

*This is not medical or spiritual advice. This is for educational purposes only.

What is the placenta?

The placenta is a temporary organ; it only grows during pregnancy and is then released after the baby is born. At conception, the cells of the embryo differentiate into either the baby or the placenta. Yes, the placenta is your baby’s and grows from his or her cells.

By 12 weeks of gestation, the placenta is responsible for five main jobs:

Respiratory: While the baby cannot breathe in utero, the placenta brings in oxygen via the mother's blood and excretes carbon dioxide.
Excretory: Processes the baby’s fluid and cleans his blood of toxins, pathogens, and any harmful substances.
Immunity: The baby receives antibodies from past and current infections, protecting them from anything the mother might catch while pregnant.
Endocrine: It makes over a dozen hormones, including human chorionic gonadotropin hormone (HCG) – the pregnancy hormone, estrogen, and progesterone, just to name a few.
Nutrition: Glucose and other micronutrients pass from the mother’s bloodstream to the baby.

Once the baby is born, the mother doesn’t need the placenta. So, God designed our bodies to release it. From this point, the placenta can be treated in three different ways.

Discarded as medical waste
Used for research
Taken home by the parents

A small group of women choose to consume their baby’s placenta postpartum.

What are the claimed benefits of placenta consumption?

Now, if you’ve never been exposed to placentaphagy (eating the placenta), it may be off-putting. But there are a growing number of placenta-eating advocates who claim otherwise.

The Association of Placenta Preparation Arts raves about its health benefits, claiming, “Each placenta is different and each person has different needs, therefore the benefits are likely to be different for each individual person. We have heard everything, from increased energy and milk supply to radiant skin and hair. The important thing to remember is that the placenta is not a highly-regulated drug—it is nutrition. Like most things you ingest, there are chemical compounds, minerals, vitamins, and even hormones that will have an effect on your body.”

The claimed benefits of placenta consumption are:

Prevention or decreased incidence of postpartum mood disorders
Increased breast milk supply
Increased energy and stamina
Replenishment of iron and other depleted nutrients
Improved hormone balance

One mother told me, “I heard about placenta encapsulation, researched it, and decided to try it after our third. It's been one of the best decisions I've made. I still have the capsules, and they help me regulate hormonal rage when my cycle is about to start.“

Placenta consumption was popularized in the United States in the 1970s and is growing in popularity in the community-based birth space, with some hospital-based birth mothers consuming it as well. But so far, most benefits are simply reported by mothers as opposed to have evidence to support the benefits. I am not here to invalidate their experiences! I simply want to explore this topic from all angles.

Is there any research to support placenta consumption?

Like many topics about pregnancy and birth, this topic is grossly understudied. But, the limited body of evidence suggests that placenta consumption has little to no benefit to the birthing mother.

There has been one double blind, placebo-controlled study done in 2017 that looked at the differences between women taking encapsulated placenta or a beef placebo and its effect on iron levels. There was no difference in outcome between the two groups. The placenta pills didn’t improve the woman’s iron stores any more than the beef pills did. The researchers state, “The current study suggests that encapsulated placenta supplementation neither significantly improves nor impairs postpartum maternal iron status for women consuming the RDA of dietary iron during pregnancy and lactation, compared to a beef placebo.“

Additionally, another study found that, “based on the recommended dietary allowance (RDA) for lactating women, the recommended daily intake of placenta capsules would provide, on average, 24% RDA for iron, 7.1% RDA for selenium, 1.5% RDA for zinc, and 1.4% RDA for copper.” A well-made prenatal vitamin may not contain iron, but it does have 100% RDA for zinc, 71% for selenium, and 58% for copper. And many well-made iron supplements provide much higher amounts of absorbable iron.

Between these two studies, although limited, there is not enough evidence to support the claim that placenta capsules help a mother's nutritional stores. In modern society, women generally have access to a plethora of nutrient-dense food options. So, if the main concern is nutritional support, there are better options than consuming one's placenta.

Are there any risks to consuming the placenta?

It’s worth noting that this is not a regulated industry and the prepared placenta is considered a nutritional supplement. There is no one making sure placentas are processed sterily; in fact, this study states that placentas are prepared in a “semi-sterile” environment. This may be cause for concern.

Additionally, many mothers I spoke to told me that consuming their placenta did the opposite of what they wanted. They had worse hormone fluctuations, or they believe it negatively affected their milk supply.

One mother said, “I had mine encapsulated with my second, and took it for just a few days. It made me shaky and felt like my brain couldn't slow down. Definitely increased my anxiety. Haven't done it with any other children, and I don't plan to!”

Another stated, “Had mine freeze-dried and encapsulated after my first birth. After taking them once my eyes swelled up and were very red and painful. I waited 3 days and tried again thinking it could just be fluke and no, it happened again! So I tossed them. Didn't bother for my other two pregnancies, its an expensive thing to have done! I was horrifically sick for most of that pregnancy and part of me wonders if that was why I had a reaction.”

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recorded a single case of a mother who ingested an infected placenta, and her baby contracted a case of late-onset group B Streptococcus agalactiae (GBS); therefore, they strongly advise against placenta consumption. But you will see some placenta specialists claim a positive GBS diagnosis is not contraindicated to placenta encapsulation, and one German study states that it's unlikely the baby contracted GBS from the mother via placenta pills. So, while I don’t hold the CDC up on a pedestal, it's important information to have when making an informed decision.

What does the Church have to say about eating the placenta?

The moment we’ve all been waiting for: does the Orthodox Church have anything to say about placenta consumption? The short answer is no. The Orthodox Christian faith is concerned with “right worship,” and therefore, you will not find doctrine on this subject. But what you will find is a discussion of consuming blood and human flesh, which is what occurs with placentophagy.

In the Old Testament law, God commands the Israelites to abstain from eating blood or blood products – see Genesis 9:4-6, Leviticus 17:10-14, and Deuteronomy 12:16. Deuteronomy 28:57 clearly says that women who eat their placentas do so out of desperation and in secret because they don’t have access to better nutrition.

In the New Testament, Acts 15:29, the Apostles took counsel to discuss which parts of the old law they were to uphold and continue to observe the law against consuming blood. And though Christians are blessed to eat meat that has been drained of blood, the placenta is not that.

Finally, Scripture is very clear on where the Church stands on consuming human flesh. There is simply no way of getting around the placenta not being human flesh. It’s made from your baby’s cells, grows in your body, and is eliminated per God's physiological design after your baby is born because it no longer serves a purpose.

Bottom line: Should Orthodox Christians consume the placenta postpartum?

It’s probably clear why I don’ believe anyone, let alone Orthodox Christians, should consume the placenta postpartum. We simply have better nutritional support than what the placenta has to offer. Not to mention the fact that Holy Scripture clearly states we should not.

Additionally, there are more effective ways of helping the postpartum hormone crash that some believe they can avoid by eating the placenta. God gave us many herbs and whole foods to support ourselves postpartum. I understand that postpartum is challenging, but there is a reason God made our bodies to eliminate the placenta after the baby is born. We do not need the hormones, toxins, and other unknown substances that are in the placenta.

So, moving forward, take this information, pray on it, and discuss it with your husband and spiritual father. Don’t take my word as the end-all be-all, but use it to make an informed decision.

Why You Might Want to Think Twice About Consuming the Placenta Postpartum as an Orthodox Christian