Why do mammals eat their placenta
We conclude that placentophagy can be understood as being practiced as a way of exerting control and managing fears around birth and the birthing experience. There are some understandable concerns about the practice. Seeking to address the issue oneself may cause a delay in seeking treatment for PND or other post-natal problems and there is a small concern about potential infection risk if the process is not sterile.
A large medical records study in the USA found no evidence of adverse outcomes associated with the practice, which is reassuring, but may not be applicable to other countries where methods may vary subtly or significantly. When it is brought up in clinical practice, healthcare professionals should be able to non-judgmentally and openly discuss with pregnant people the available medical evidence, or lack thereof, for placentophagy.
They should also explore the reasons why someone might be considering it and if there is any additional support they want or need. View the latest posts on the BMC Series blog homepage. About Latest Posts. From the moment a domesticated female dog gives birth, the mother dog knows what to do. After the birth, the mother dog frees each puppy from the sac. She then does an excellent job of licking each puppy clean and freeing each one from the umbilical cord.
She may consume the placenta of each puppy. Even though a domesticated dog is no longer living in the wilds, it eats the placenta to clean up the birthing area and remove birthing scents. She wants to make sure that the scent of the birth, just like she would in the wild, does not attract predators.
This actually comes from the time when dogs were still wild and lived in dens. Everything to ensure that predators never got whiff that there was a meal to be had close by. Domesticated dogs, too, will eat the feces of the puppies to keep her basket clean. Many animals lick the amniotic fluid during labor and then consume the placenta. This activity has been documented by many researchers who have studied placentophagy in many species of female mammals.
Even with multi-births, the mother animal will diligently eat the placenta of each young. There are a few theories as to why mammals engage in placentophagy. A passionate content creator on pet behavior, nutrition choices, and health, Mike is an experienced pet expert. He has been writing on multiple websites to compensate for his passion for cats. To do this, the placenta is steamed, dried and then ground into a fine powder.
The resulting capsules are taken several times a day during the postpartum period. One placenta usually yields around capsules.
Read more: Explainer: what is placenta? Proponents of the practice, which is known as placentophagy, claim it can boost milk supply, reduce the risk of developing postpartum depression, and replenish vital nutrients.
Most of the proposed benefits are based on anecdotal reports from women who have consumed their placentas, and from animal studies. Nobody knows exactly why non-human mammals eat their placenta. A number of possible explanations have been proposed. According to some scientists , ingestion of the placenta is done to ensure predators are not alerted to the presence of a vulnerable newborn. Others argue the placenta contains useful nutrients and hormones beneficial for a new mother.
This idea is also favoured by advocates of human placentophagy. Yet there are some key points that differentiate humans from the animal world with regards to placenta ingestion. In the animal kingdom, mammals have placentas, and there is near universal ingestion of the placenta in the immediate postpartum period of giving birth. Exceptions that do not consume the placenta include all sea mammals, members of the camelid family camels, alpacas and llamas , and humans. Marsupials also do not ingest their placentas, as they are resorbed after giving birth.
Within all species there are typically some individuals that do not follow the typical behavior of ingestion. This indicates that it is not an obligatory activity among mammals. Amniotic fluid is licked throughout labor in mammals that consume placenta. Human mothers, on the other hand, are not attracted to their placenta, nor do they lick themselves or the amniotic fluid. They are focused on their baby in the postpartum period.