The birth of Indigo, the daughter of Camilo and Evaluna Montaner, once again put the controversy over placentophagy at the center of the scene, the practice that consists of eating the placenta in order to presumably obtain benefits for the health of the mother. mother and baby.
But not only Ricardo Montaner’s daughter admitted to having eaten her placenta, other celebrities such as Kim Kardashian, Jennifer López and Juana Repetto have also done the same with their pregnancies.
In statements to Clarín, medical specialists from the Mayo Clinic advise against this practice, which is increasingly common among celebrities. According to them, eating the placenta after giving birth can be harmful to both the mother and the baby.
“Although some claim that placentophagy can prevent postpartum depression, reduce postpartum bleeding, improve mood, energy and milk supply, and provide important micronutrients (such as iron) there is no evidence that eating the placenta contributes health benefits,” they say.
The Mayo Clinic explains that the placenta is an intricate organ that nourishes the growing fetus by exchanging nutrients and oxygen and filtering waste through the umbilical cord.
“The most common preparation of the placenta – the creation of a capsule – is done by steaming and dehydrating the placenta or by processing the raw placenta. Some people have also been known to eat the placenta raw, cooked, or in shakes or liquid extracts.
In this sense, doctors maintain that these preparations do not completely eliminate the infectious bacteria and viruses that the placenta could contain, which puts both the pregnant person and the baby at risk.
Finally, they mention that the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a warning against taking placenta capsules due to a case in which a newborn presented streptococcus after the mother took placenta pills containing this group of bacteria.
It is believed that the breast milk was infected with the bacteria and that the mother contracted it by ingesting her placenta. Streptococcus, they say, can cause serious illness in newborns.
