The artists Evaluna and Camilo were the parents of their little daughter Indigo last April and since then they have been telling their fans how their new facet as parents is being. The last thing that we have after Camilo has made it known in a television interview is that, in addition to the fact that the birth of her was at her house by her decision, after giving birth they encapsulated the placenta to ingest it.
Actually, it is a practice that is not very widespread, but there are several celebrities who have made it public, such as Kim and Kourtney Kardashian, Hillary Duff or January Jones. But... why do they do it? First of all, it must be said that it is not something strange in the animal kingdom, camels, llamas or marine mammals do it. It is known as placentophagy.
It is supposed that among its benefits are the prevention of postpartum pain, improved lactation, increased energy and less risk of depression or a special bond with the baby, as well as an improvement in the mother's skin. Among the different modalities for ingestion is dehydration and subsequent conversion into capsules, cooking or maceration with herbs. Some women also eat it raw. In fact, there are even recipes that can be found on the web.
The truth is that there is no scientific evidence that demonstrates all these supposed benefits. In the United States, for example, a country where it became more fashionable after several celebrities announced that they had ingested it, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention -the country's public health agency- warned that any of these Ways of preparing the placenta do not completely eliminate the presence of infectious bacteria and viruses that may be present in this organ and cause serious illness in the mother.
The flap was made after there was a case of a nursing newborn who became infected with group B strep after the mother took placenta pills and became infected by this route. Possibly breast milk was the route of infection, causing significant danger to the baby's life.
It is believed that the breast milk was infected by the group B streptococcus bacteria that the mother contracted by ingesting her infected placenta. Group B strep can cause serious illness in newborns. In fact, a study was conducted that confirmed this possibility, concluding that ingesting placenta could contribute to late-onset group B strep infection.
In Spain, in 2015, the General Nursing Council published the so-called "Doulas Report", which warned of the practices carried out by these women that promoted home birth and other practices such as eating the placenta, which could cause serious risks to the health of the baby and the mother. In short, the experts do not recommend it in any case, since the benefits have not been demonstrated and if, instead, its drawbacks.
