Kim Kardashian wrote on Monday in a post about taking placenta pills. She shares, "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 sure." The 35-year-old writes that she heard stories about the health effects of placenta when she gave birth to daughter North, so she told herself, "Why not try it? What do I have to lose?" quotes the New York Daily News.
In 2013, she had contemplated on doing it which she shared on episode of "Keeping Up with the Kardashians," reports the New York Daily News. What made her finally try it was older sister Kourtney doing it in early 2015 when she gave birth to third child Reign Aston.
Besides the two Kardashians, other celebrities who have taken placenta pills are reality star Kim Zolciak and actresses January Jones and Gaby Hoffman. In the case of Saint West's mother, she tried it to benefit from the reported good effects of eating placenta, not to exact revenge on the placenta which cause her to suffer from excruciating pain when she deliver her second baby.
She tapped the services of Joni Lucarelli, the woman who has been doing that for the past six years. Lucarelli who has turned about 500 placentas into pills, picks up the placenta after a woman gives birth and prepares it at home. She does it the traditional Chinese way by steaming the placenta with lemon, ginger and hot pepper before dehydrating, or the raw food method in which it is processed raw and dehydrated at a temperature not exceeding 118 degrees Fahrenheit. Kim opted for the raw food method.
The number of pills made from the placenta ranges from 100 to 200, depending on the size of the placenta which usually weighs about 1 pound and looks round and flat, Lucarelli explains. She usually delivers the placenta pill to clients within one day.
The recommended dose is one capsule three times a day until they finish the pills. But some mothers take the pills slowly and save the rest in Ziploc and freeze it. They take it later when they have menopause or PMS, which prolongs the life of the pill for a few years, according to Lucarelli who charges $275 for the service.
Physicians, though are divided on the practice. Lucarelli claims that based on the anecdotes of her clients who gave birth and took placenta pills, they report better breastmilk flow, higher energy and do not experience with postpartum depression, according to Pagesix.
But it is not only celebrities who eat their newborn's placentas, tribal women and dogs do it too. WebMD says there is no proof that eating the placenta does what Lucarelli mentions in clients' anecdote, but some doctors think the practice should be continued to be studied.
The placenta contains protein and fats, but doctors point out that those nutrients are also found in a healthy diet. Among animals, the practice could reduce labor pains in a female dog and encourage the dog to bond with her puppies. However, WebMD reminds, "Remember, though, that's for a dog, not for a woman."
Given the plus and minus points of taking placenta pills, new mothers could decide if they want to imitate Kim and Kourtney and keep up with the Kardashians on the practice or not.