Placentophagia in Humans and Nonhuman Mammals: Causes and Consequences

@article{Kristal2012PlacentophagiaIH,
  title={Placentophagia in Humans and Nonhuman Mammals: Causes and Consequences},
  author={Mark B. Kristal and Jean M Dipirro and Alexis C Thompson},
  journal={Ecology of Food and Nutrition},
  year={2012},
  volume={51},
  pages={177 - 197}
}
Afterbirth ingestion by nonhuman mammalian mothers has a number of benefits: (1) increasing the interaction between the mother and infant; (2) potentiating pregnancy-mediated analgesia in the delivering mother; (3) potentiating maternal brain opioid circuits that facilitate the onset of caretaking behavior; and (4) suppressing postpartum pseudopregnancy. Childbirth is fraught with additional problems for which there are no practical nonhuman animal models: postpartum depression, failure to bond… 
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There are still questions to be resolved, and more studies are needed to confirm or reject the data generated so far about placentophagia in humans and nonhuman mammals, and the way the placenta is prepared alters its components, and thus the desired effects.
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The present review explores research examining the effects of placentophagy in animals and humans and presents the theoretical assumptions behind placentaphagy and its effects and implications for future research are discussed.
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The health benefits and risks of placentophagy require further investigation of the retained contents of raw, cooked, and encapsulated placenta and its effects on the postpartum woman.
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Many weanling female laboratory rats are placentophagic during the birth of younger siblings but do not selectively prefer placenta when tested outside their natal nest, which may promote their alloparenting or later postpartum mothering.
Human Maternal Placentophagy: A Survey of Self-Reported Motivations and Experiences Associated with Placenta Consumption
TLDR
Survey of females who had ingested their placenta found the majority of these women reported perceived positive benefits and indicated they would engage in placentophagy again after subsequent births, but it is necessary to determine if the described benefits extend beyond those of placebo effects, or are skewed by the nature of the studied sample.
Behavioral and endocrine consequences of placentophagia in male California mice (Peromyscus californicus)
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References

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