Don't Knock It Until You Try It: What Are The Benefits of Eating Your Own Placenta?
If someone were to offer you pills that were said to lower your chances of postpartum depression, would you take them? Sure, right? But would you still agree to the pills if it came out of an organ in your uterus?
NPR.org reports that as many as 1 in every 7 women experience postpartum depression (PPD), with symptoms of feeling guilty or a disconnect towards her newborn, severe irritability, sleep deprivation, and loss of appetite, to name a few. According to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, women who become pregnant as an adolescent, have pregnancy and/or birth complications, or give birth to a baby born with defects and disabilities, have a higher risk of experiencing PPD. But don't be fooled. Women who had healthy pregnancies can also feel depressed after the arrival of a newborn. So, I pose the question again: would you look into those pills that could reduce that possibility?
Placenta, yes, “afterbirth," is a temporary organ that develops in the uterus of pregnant women, providing oxygen and delivering vital nutrients to developing babies. It also allows waste elimination and produces hormones like, oxytocin and progesterone. Human placentophagy, or the consumption of placenta, is a practice that dates back to the 16th century in China, used in medicine, elixirs, and to cure lactation and infertility issues. Eating your own placenta also replenishes those nutrients lost during pregnancy. In recent years, it began to trend here in America, thanks to celeb-mommies, Alicia Silverstone, RHOA's Kim Zolciak, Tamera Mowry-Housley, and Mad Men's January Jones who said that it increased their milk production, heightened their mood and lowered their chances of postpartum depression.
Alicia Silverstone's husband calls her encapsulated placenta, “happy pills."
Someone gifted me my placenta in the form of a pill. They encapsulated it. I thought 'That's harmless. I'll try it.' And I have to tell you that I really loved it. I've got the point that my husband said 'Did you have your happy pills today?' And I was really sad when they were gone. It really helped me.
Photo Credit: KimKardashianWest.com
Zolciak gets her fix through a smoothie, Tamera drinks hers (and shared with her sis, Tia), and JJ takes hers like a natural supplement. There are recipes that exist if you're trying to get fancy with it, too. Earlier this year Kourtney Kardashian jumped on board after she gave birth to son, Reign, and shared her experience on Instagram, calling them “life-changing." Of course, her little sister Kim followed suit and uploaded a pic of her own pills after Saint's arrival. In a post on her site, Mrs. West talks about her fight against postpartum depression the second time around with the assistance of her placenta.
Related: Sisterly Bonding: Tia Tastes Tamera's Placenta
So, I'm really not this holistic person or someone who would have ever considered eating my placenta...And when I say 'eat my placenta,' I mean that I'm having it freeze-dried and made into a pill form–not actually fry it like a steak and eat it (which some people do, BTW).I heard so many stories when I was pregnant with North of moms who never ate their placenta with their first baby and then had postpartum depression, but then when they took the pills with their second baby, they did not suffer from depression! So I thought, why not try it?...What do I have to lose? I really didn't want the baby blues and thought I can't go wrong with taking a pill made of my own hormones-made by me, for me. I started researching and read about so many moms who felt this same way and said the overall healing process was so much easier. Every time I take a pill, I feel a surge of energy and feel really healthy and good. I totally recommend it for anyone considering it!
Jennifer Mayer, founder of Brooklyn Placenta Services and birth doula, tells the New York Daily Newsabout the growing interest amongst women who are interested in encapsulating their placenta. Mayer typically makes roughly 80-130 pills on average for each of her clients and has cooked up more than 600-700 placenta in a span of her five years in the business, leaving her job as a massage therapist and picking up the side hustle full-time.
She briefly talks about her own experience and the process of encapsulation:
It doesn't taste like anything in capsule form. I slice it, dehydrate it and fill it into a capsule about the size of a vitamin, and place the pills in a blue glass bottle. If anything, it might smell a little metallic. You know, like blood.So far the science on eating placenta is mostly anecdotal; women sharing their personal experiences of it helping with their baby blues. My clients say it increases their energy. Taking a capsule gives them a boost equal to a cup of coffee or a green juice — which, if you have a newborn, is pretty awesome. And there are studies from the turn of the century that show dehydrated placenta did increase milk supply in breastfeeding moms.
There must be magic in the placenta, but if you ask doctors, they aren't buying it. Many believe that, while celebrities publicly advocate for it, there isn't any scientifically based evidence that confirms there are benefits to eating your own afterbirth in any form. After placentophagia became a hot topic back in 2012 from January Jones' comment, many medical specialists weighed in.
Neuroscientist Mark KristaltoldNewYork Magazine, “It's a New Age phenomenon. Every ten or twenty years, people say, 'We should do this because it's natural and animals do it.' But it's not based on science. It's a fad."
Claudia Booker, a home birth midwife and a placenta encapsulator believes there are advantages to consuming your own placenta, but doesn't agree in the belief that it's a remedy for PPD.
“These placenta pills can tell your hormonal system not to create the tremendous drop in estrogen after birth that causes some women to be weepy or feel down. It slows down that rapid estrogen decline...I do not believe that consuming your placenta in capsule form or any form is a treatment for clinically diagnosed postpartum depression, which is a medical condition that should be treated by a healthcare provider. This is more about the new mommy orientation stage, when you wonder if you'll ever sleep again and if life is always going to be like this."
While I've never taken placenta pills after having my children (and probably never will), I don't knock those who choose to indulge. I applaud any woman choosing to do what she feels is best for her body and baby. Healthy mommies do make happier homes.
ItGirl 100 Honors Black Women Who Create Culture & Put On For Their Cities
As they say, create the change you want to see in this world, besties. That’s why xoNecole linked up with Hyundai for the inaugural ItGirl 100 List, a celebration of 100 Genzennial women who aren’t afraid to pull up their own seats to the table. Across regions and industries, these women embody the essence of discovering self-value through purpose, honey! They're fierce, they’re ultra-creative, and we know they make their cities proud.
VIEW THE FULL ITGIRL 100 LIST HERE.
Don’t forget to also check out the ItGirl Directory, featuring 50 Black-woman-owned marketing and branding agencies, photographers and videographers, publicists, and more.
THE ITGIRL MEMO
I. An ItGirl puts on for her city and masters her self-worth through purpose.
II. An ItGirl celebrates all the things that make her unique.
III. An ItGirl empowers others to become the best versions of themselves.
IV. An ItGirl leads by example, inspiring others through her actions and integrity.
V. An ItGirl paves the way for authenticity and diversity in all aspects of life.
VI. An ItGirl uses the power of her voice to advocate for positive change in the world.
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Robyn Dixon Confirms She Will Not Be Returning To 'The Real Housewives Of Potomac' After 8 Seasons
Robyn Dixon has officially confirmed the rumors of her exit from The Real Housewives of Potomac after eight seasons.
In the most recent episode of her podcast Reasonably Shady with co-host and her now former RHOP castmate and best friend Gizelle Bryant, Robyn revealed to listeners that Bravo did not ask her back. "It's reality. I was fired, for lack of better words," she said.
"And I will not sugarcoat the situation and say, 'Oh I am walking away' and this is a break or anything like this. This was a network decision. And, you know, I'm okay with it because nothing lasts forever."
News of Robyn's exit first made headlines in late March, as reported by The Jasmine Brand. On the Monday, April 15 episode of the Reasonably Shady podcast, Robyn explained the reason behind her decision to wait to confirm her departure now versus then. "I wanted to speak my own business, my own life, my own news, my own life, my own news, and I wanted to share it out of my own mouth when the time was appropriate.
"And I felt like the appropriate time would be once season 8 of The Real Housewives of Potomac was finished airing, which it is. now finished airing; the last reunion episode just went off last night. And I wanted to respect the network and respect the show and wait until the season ended, which I think makes sense," she continued.
Robyn's announcement comes shortly after news of Candiace Dillard Bassett's decision to 'take a break' from the franchise which came during the airing of the eighth season's three-part reunion special. Robyn has been a part of the Maryland version of The Real Housewives franchise since the beginning with viewers being privy to a lot of the series' vet's highs and lows, including her tax issues in season five where the reality star owed close to $90,000 in back taxes, and her engagement and subsequent remarriage with on-again-off-again partner turned husband Juan Dixon.
Some of the pair's trials as a couple became the center of controversy when cheating rumors swirled and the Dixons maintained a united front with both of them vehemently denying any outside affairs. In a slightly controversial move in 2023 following a season of denials of Juan's alleged infidelities, Robyn placed her transparency behind a podcast paywall instead of airing it out on the show, a decision that might have been seen as the beginning of the end for the 45-year-old.
The Real Housewives of Potomac has sparked much criticism over the years, largely stemming from viewers feeling as though the reality show suffers from colorism and perceived favoritism shown to particular cast members depending on skin tone and the emphasis on "fake" storylines instead of focusing on what is real amongst the group of women.
Some of those pain points were explored during the latest season's reunions with the cast members not getting very far in understanding their colorism experiences. "There's no better group of Black women on the Bravo network to talk about that than us," fellow housewife Karen Huger said in the explosive conversation in the second part of the reunion special.
"No, actually, that's very incorrect," Wendy Osefo interjected at the time, "because if you want to talk about colorism, then you need to have the range to talk about it. And a lot of people on this couch, whether you want to admit it or not, do not have the range."
Candiace has been very vocal about her perspective on colorism as it relates to the cast and it is speculated that that as well as favoritism played a part in the reason she announced her own departure from the Bravo series on March 25 after six seasons. Though she emphasized it was "not a farewell," but a "'see you later.'"
The 37-year-old singer told PEOPLE exclusively, "As I embark on a new chapter after six remarkable years with The Real Housewives of Potomac, I am filled with gratitude for the enriching friendships, personal growth, and moments of introspection that have defined this journey."
She continued, "With a whirlwind of new opportunities and responsibilities on my plate, I have decided to take a break from RHOP."
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Featured image by Mindy Small/Getty Images