--- title: Eating Placenta Has No Known Benefits, Says Study description: Interest in the practice has spiked, but researchers warn the risks are unknown canonical: https://time.com/3910712/placenta-risks-benefits/ author: Sarah Begley article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-06-05T16:07:33.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:45:16.686Z article:section: Health og:title: Eating Placenta Does Nothing for Your Health, Study Finds og:description: And researchers warn there might be unforeseen risks og:url: https://time.com/3910712/placenta-risks-benefits/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3dd5a6ecde5d79e6/69885337f887dc4f34e90ca6/placenta.jpeg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: 487703605 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Eating Placenta Does Nothing for Your Health, Study Finds twitter:description: And researchers warn there might be unforeseen risks twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3dd5a6ecde5d79e6/69885337f887dc4f34e90ca6/placenta.jpeg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Eating Placenta Does Nothing for Your Health, Study Says ## Video: Filming Embryos Improves Chances of Pregnancy [Watch (HLS stream): Filming Embryos Improves Chances of Pregnancy](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/1HDjrg7H.m3u8) (3:41)  _Published 2010-10-08. Just after Robert Edwards won the Nobel Prize for his In Vitro Fertilization work, a new study said careful video observation of the fertilization process improves chances for a successful pregnancy_ by [Sarah Begley](https://time.com/author/sarah-begley/) ## Sarah Begley Jun 5, 2015 4:07 PM UTC  Pregnant Caucasian woman holding belly Pregnant Caucasian woman holding bellyJGI/Jamie Grill—Blend Images/Getty Images by [Sarah Begley](https://time.com/author/sarah-begley/) ## Sarah Begley Jun 5, 2015 4:07 PM UTC New moms have recently taken a greater interest in consuming their placenta after birth, with celebrities like Kourtney Kardashian touting possible benefits from improving lactation and increasing skin elasticity to decreasing the risk of postpartum depression. But according to new research, there is no data to support any of these claims. A [Northwestern Medicine review](http://www.eurekalert.org/pub%5Freleases/2015-06/nu-etp060215.php) of previously published studies showed that whether consumed raw, cooked, or in pill form, there are no proven, tangible benefits to consuming the placenta. Perhaps more importantly, the risk level of doing so is currently unknown, so moms may be putting themselves (and their babies, if they are breastfeeding) in harm’s way by consuming afterbirth. The review’s lead author, Cynthia Coyle, said it is problematic that there are “no regulations as to how the placenta is stored and prepared, and \[that\] the dosing is inconsistent…Women really don’t know what they are ingesting.” Coyle hopes this news will encourage doctors to help their patients make informed decisions. _Read next:_ [_Harvard Obstetrician Speaks on Safety of Giving Birth at Hospitals_](http://time.com/3908900/hospital-labor-safety/?iid=time%5Freadnext) [_Listen to the most important stories of the day._](http://time.com/newsletter/the-brief/autoplay/?xid=spl-fullbrief-article) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3910712/placenta-risks-benefits/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3910712/placenta-risks-benefits/"},"headline":"Eating Placenta Does Nothing for Your Health, Study Says","datePublished":"2015-06-05T16:07:33.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T07:45:16.686Z","description":"And researchers warn there might be unforeseen risks","url":"https://time.com/3910712/placenta-risks-benefits/","keywords":["Childbirth","Living","Pregnancy","Diet & Nutrition"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3dd5a6ecde5d79e6/69885337f887dc4f34e90ca6/placenta.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Sarah Begley","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/sarah-begley/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3dd5a6ecde5d79e6/69885337f887dc4f34e90ca6/placenta.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"487703605","caption":"487703605","creditText":"JGI/Jamie Grill—Blend Images/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/childbirth/","name":"Childbirth"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3910712/placenta-risks-benefits/","name":"Eating Placenta Does Nothing for Your Health, Study Says"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Filming Embryos Improves Chances of Pregnancy","description":"Just after Robert Edwards won the Nobel Prize for his In Vitro Fertilization work, a new study said careful video observation of the fertilization process improves chances for a successful pregnancy","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/1HDjrg7H/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2010-10-08T20:58:46.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/1HDjrg7H.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/3910712/placenta-risks-benefits/","duration":"PT3M41S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/3910712/placenta-risks-benefits/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```