Teen Mom's Kailyn Lowry Ate Her Placenta—But Here's Why It's Not Always a Good Idea

For these celebrity parents, placenta is on the menu.

Teen Mom alum Kailyn Lowry recently revealed that after she and boyfriend Elijah Scott privately welcomed her fifth child—a baby boy named Rio—she whipped up a smoothie with the placenta as the secret ingredient.

And she's not alone here. Chrissy Teigen, Kourtney Kardashian, Kim Kardashian, Mandy Moore and Tamera Mowry have all candidly shared their experience with the postpartum practice.

In fact, Kim tried it in pill form after welcoming son Saint West, 7, with ex-Kanye West. 

"I heard so many stories when I was pregnant with North of moms who never ate their placenta with their first baby and then had postpartum depression," she wrote in 2015 on her now-defunct blog, per Parents, "but then when they took the pills with their second baby, they did not suffer from depression!" 

Her philosophy, as she added: "I can't go wrong with taking a pill made of my own hormones," Kim continued, "made by me, for me."

And, yet, while celebrities have encapsulated, blended and fried their placentas, it might actually not be the best practice to partake in. OB-GYN Dr. Sherry Ross shared with E! News what to keep in mind before deciding to eat your placenta.

What does the placenta do?

First things first, what even is the placenta? Well, it's an organ that forms during pregnancy and develops before your baby's organs, per WebMd. And according to Dr. Ross, "The placenta is known to be loaded with nutrients and iron." It connects you and your baby through the umbilical cord, gives them oxygen, nutrients and hormones, plus takes away waste. According to WebMd, after your baby is born, you will usually deliver your placenta within the hour.

Why do people eat their placenta?

While eating the placenta—or as it's medically called, placentophagy—has become a trendy wellness practice, Dr. Ross pointed out that it's been around for centuries.

"We are not the first species to want to eat our placenta with its roots grounded in traditional Chinese medicine," she said. "Given the placenta's rich source of nutrients, it was thought that consuming the placenta would replenish the lost energy and nutrients after childbirth."

These days, the most common way to preserve and consume the placenta is through the process of encapsulation. As the She-ology author put it, "Placenta pills are made by dehydrating, grinding, and creating capsules to consume orally."

People have also been known to eat the placenta in raw, cooked, or in liquid form.

Is it safe to eat your placenta?

In short: No. But, as the women's sexual health expert noted, it's a lot more complicated to unravel.

For one, the practice isn't FDA-approved. "There is little oversight over the way the placenta is properly prepared and handled prior to consumption," Dr. Ross explained. "Given this, there is a risk of infection from harmful bacteria and viruses. Plus, the current encapsulation process may not effectively eliminate the risk of infections."

And the message that eating your placenta has postpartum benefits can also be misleading.

"Unfortunately," the medical expert shared, "the research doesn't support the current claims on reducing postpartum bleeding, improving postpartum depression, enhancing breastfeeding, boosting your energy or using it in the future for menopausal symptoms."

What's more? According to National Institute of Medicine and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, eating your placenta also poses harm to your baby.

So much so, that in 2016, the CDC issued a warning against placenta capsules after a newborn developed group B streptococcus—an illness that can be deadly for babies.

Additionally, the National Institute of Medicine reported that, in one case, when a mother ingested her placenta and continued to nurse her baby, it caused early signs of puberty in her 3-month-old.

As for the widely touted mental health benefits, the CDC and the National Institute of Medicine consider consuming the placenta to offer more of a placebo effect—though they acknowledge that moms likely don't care why they feel better, just that they do. 

What should you do if you want to eat your placenta?

First things first, suggests Dr. Ross, have a chat with your healthcare provider beforehand, who can provide personalized guidance.

And, of course, on the hunt for something that will give you a post-pregnancy lift, you can never go wrong with creating healthy lifestyle habits. As Dr. Ross pointed out, "Eating a healthy and balanced diet, getting adequate sleep, fluid hydration, regular exercise and emotional support are useful options for a healthy postpartum recovery."