UNDATED (WKRC) - More and more women are choosing to have their placenta made into pills.
Advocates say eating the placenta can help boost energy levels and fight fatigue, but some doctors say there isn't enough research to back up the claims.
Placenta specialist Jennifer Mayer has been creating pills made from placenta for eight years. She made them after the birth of her first baby and plans to do the same with her second.
Mayer said, "The days I forgot to take those pills, I was way more tired; the afternoons seemed longer. The days I did take it went by smoother."
Mayer says clients report having more energy, fewer mood swings and better breast milk production.
"After having a baby, it can be a really challenging time. Your reserves are depleted, so anything that can help you replenish and restore is helpful."
The process to encapsulate the placenta is not FDA-regulated. Specialists say they clean the placenta and prepare it for dehydration. It takes a placenta specialist two to four days to create the placenta pills after childbirth. Each mom gets a bottle with 80 to 120 pills inside. The average dose is one to three pills a day.
Dr. Barbara Levy from the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists says she has safety concerns about eating the placenta because its job is to filter poisons and bacteria.
"There was a scenario where a woman did the encapsulation and ingested it. She didn't get sick, but the bacteria got through her breast milk and got the baby very, very sick," Levy said.
Dr. Levy recommends new moms talk with their doctors before making decisions about placenta pills.
