Is it safe to eat the placenta?

Compiled by X

Source｜Medical World Obstetrics and Gynecology Channel

The placenta is a fascinating thing. Currently, humans use the placenta for both food and medicine. This has also led to some questions.

For example, the illegal sale of placentas is commonplace.

So today, let's talk about the issue of eating and selling placentas.

Is it safe to eat the placenta?

To this day, no one can give a definitive answer to this question.

Some people believe it's edible! Processed placenta, known as Ziheche in traditional Chinese medicine, has certain medicinal properties. The Compendium of Materia Medica states that it "tonifies qi and blood, warms the kidneys and benefits essence. It treats weakness and emaciation, fever and bone steaming, cough and asthma with hemoptysis, spontaneous sweating and night sweats, seminal emission and impotence, infertility, insufficient blood and qi in women, and insufficient lactation."

In addition, it is said that Empress Dowager Cixi consumed the placenta of her first full-term male infant for many years after middle age in order to maintain her youth. The Queen of France, Louis XVI, and the legendary beauty Marie Edward both consumed human placenta.

Opponents argue that consuming the placenta is unethical and that there is currently no scientific evidence to prove that the placenta has any health benefits.

It is worth noting that the 2015 edition of the Chinese Pharmacopoeia excluded placenta and related traditional Chinese medicines. The main reason for its exclusion was "the existence of safety risks," because placenta, as a medicinal material, lacks relevant virus testing and may pose safety risks.

Is there any danger in consuming placenta?

In 2017, a report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) warned against consuming the placenta, stating that mothers who consume the placenta may increase the risk of bacterial infections in their newborns.

The CDC released this new case report following a mother in Oregon who gave birth to a healthy baby last September. However, days later, the baby was admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit with group B-streptococcal (GBS) bacteremia, a life-threatening bloodstream infection. The baby was eventually cured, but was then hospitalized five days later due to a recurrence of GBS.

The doctors were deeply troubled. It wasn't until they discovered the mother was taking placental medication that they realized the medication not only contained placental powder but also carried GBS (a type of bacteria). GBS typically doesn't cause infection in adults, but it's extremely dangerous for newborns whose immune systems are not yet fully developed. The bacteria can cross the infant's gut, bloodstream, and even the blood-brain barrier. Further investigation revealed that the GBS strain in the pill was genetically identical to the one causing GBS infection in newborns.

In addition, since the placenta may contain infectious viruses, infectious hepatitis, malignant tumors, immunodeficiency diseases, AIDS, sexually transmitted diseases (syphilis, gonorrhea) and acute infectious diseases can all be transmitted through a contaminated placenta. There are also many undiscovered pathogens in the human body. If the placenta is of unknown origin, it is not worth the risk of infection if you consume it.

Is the sale of placenta legal?

The answer is invalid.

Since 2005, my country has explicitly prohibited the sale of human organs. The Ministry of Health, in its "Request for Instructions on How Medical Institutions Should Handle Placentas After Childbirth," clearly stated that the placenta should belong to the mother after delivery. The mother has the right to possess, use, and dispose of the placenta according to her own will. If a hospital sells the placenta without the mother's consent, it infringes upon the mother's ownership, right to know, and right to control the placenta.

Finally, it is certain that fresh placenta should never be eaten!