Human History

Key Points

Many people mistakenly assume that women have eaten their placenta for thousands of years as a traditional childbirth practice that was lost with modern birth practices
There is no tradition found of maternal postpartum placenta ingestion in a review of cultures worldwide

The first ever trend of human placenta ingestion began in the 1970’s
Maternal placenta ingestion has gained in popularity only since 2006 with the trend of encapsulation
This recent trend is a huge experiment in human history, with unknown ramifications

Cross Cultural Anthropology Studies

In this section:

Cross cultural anthropology studies
Humans have different needs than animals
Human social bonds

Many people assume that placentophagy, or eating one’s own placenta after birth has historically been a traditional human practice. However, based on extensive investigation looking at cultures around the world, researchers have found absolutely no evidence of women eating their placenta in a cultural tradition. Not one.

Anthropologist Mark Kristal (1980) studied 296 cultures around the world looking for cultures where postpartum women consumed their placenta. In 2010, a pair of anthropologists, Sharon Young and Daniel Benyshek (2010) performed a cross-cultural examination of 179 human societies. Neither group found any evidence of cultures with maternal placenta ingestion after delivery until a single case of a home birth woman in the 1970’s. The recent trend of placenta ingestion is unprecedented in human traditions. In fact, they found many cultures with specific taboos against maternal placenta ingestion, and most had traditional practices that included ceremonial burial, burning, drying, hanging or placing in specific locations. The placenta often is held to have specific powers that help to protect the mother and/or child. (Young and Benyshek, 2010) Check out this Placenta Burial Traditions download for some of the ways it is traditionally handled.

Human Social Bonds

There is no record in cross-cultural studies of women licking amniotic fluid during labor, which is universal in the mammals that ingest their placenta. Dr. Kristal theorizes that since there is no apparent history of human maternal ingestion of amniotic fluid nor placenta, there is likely an adaptive advantage to not ingest the placenta. He wonders if the absence of the placenta opioid enhancing factor would elicit greater help from others, particularly women, during the delivery, which would significantly strengthen social bonds in the group.

The help and guidance new mothers receive from older, experienced women would help to increase the survival of the young. It is interesting to note that the sea mammals often have “attended” births and assistance from older females. Perhaps the two mammal groups that do not ingest the amniotic fluid or placenta have evolved to have a social system that better serves them.

Summary: What do humans do

Humans don’t:

Lick amniotic fluid in labor
Consume placenta postpartum

Humans do:

Labor sit
Assist in birth if needed
Provide postpartum assistance, typically 4-6 weeks
Prepare new mother special foods
Have culturally specific ways to honor new mothers and babies
Have specific cultural traditions for placenta, such as burial, burning, hanging in special location, etc.

References

Coyle, C., Hulse, K., Wisner, K., Driscoll, K., & Clark, C. (2015). Placentophagy: Therapeutic Miracle or Myth? Arch Womens Ment Health 18:673-680.

Hayes, E. (2016). Consumption of the Placenta in the Postpartum Period. JOGNN 45:78-89.

Kristal, M. (1980). Placentophagia: A Biobehavioral Enigma (or De gustibus non disputandum est). Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews 4:141-150.

Kristal, M., DiPirro, J. & Thompson, A. (2012). Placentophagia in Humans and Nonhuman Mammals: Causes and Consequences. Ecology of Food and Nutrition 51:177-197.

Young, S. & Benyshek, D. (2010). In Search of Human Placentophagy: A Cross-Cultural Survey of Human Placenta Consumption, Disposal Practices, and Cultural Beliefs. Ecology of Food and Nutrition 49:467-484.

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