Should new moms eat their placenta?

Actress January Jones says she's been eating her own placenta.

Actress January Jones at Lincoln Center on Monday, March 26, 2012 in New York. (Evan Agostini/Associated Press) In a bid to stay healthy, the Mad Men star admits that after giving birth to son Xander last September she has been eating her placenta for extra nourishment.

"It's something I was very hesitant about, but we're the only mammals who don't ingest our own placentas. It's not witchcraft-y or anything! I suggest it to all moms!" Jones told People Magazine.

The placenta is a flattened circular organ that develops in a woman's uterus during pregnancy, and which nourishes the fetus through the umbilical cord. It is expelled from the body after birth.

Many mammals eat the placenta after birth, a practice known as placentophagy. For humans, consuming the placenta is believed - but has not been proven to - reduce post-partum symptoms.

Most commonly, it is cooked, dehydrated and turned into a powder form, through a process known as "encapsulation."
 
Should new moms eat their placenta? Would you eat your own placenta? Why or why not? Share your thoughts in the comment field below.


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