A British woman sparked controversy after consuming jelly made from her placenta, claiming it helped alleviate postpartum depression.
Hannah Brown, a 34-year-old mother from West Yorkshire, made headlines after a recent report from The Mirror. Last year, she welcomed her second child, opting for a home birth despite medical advice against it. In October, Hannah successfully gave birth to a healthy baby boy weighing 2.8kg (around 6.2 pounds) in her home.
After learning that consuming placenta might help boost breast milk production and ease postpartum depression, Hannah decided to take an unconventional route. She encapsulated her placenta into pills and even went a step further by creating placenta jelly. To share her journey with others, she filmed herself eating the jelly and posted the video on social media with the caption, “Just casually eating my placenta like it’s Haribo.”
The video quickly went viral, racking over 5 million views and sparking a fierce online debate. “At first people were interested, then the video hit America and I started getting messages from people saying it was horrific or like cannibalism, people asking why anyone would have sex with me, calling me ugly, or even saying that my baby and I needed to die. My sister also thought it was disgusting and some of my family were mortified that I planned on eating my placenta, it didn’t phase me though, I just kept thinking about all the people I could help by sharing it.”
Despite the harsh backlash, Hannah refused to be swayed. “But some of them were really bad. People thought it was out of the ordinary and didn’t know what to make of it. Although I went viral almost for the wrong thing, I would absolutely do it again, and lots of people are intrigued. Once people start to hear positive stories from others, that’s when they see the benefits.”
Hannah isn’t the only celebrity who has explored placenta consumption. Back in 2015, reality TV star Kim Kardashian made headlines when she revealed that she took placenta pills after giving birth to her children.
However, it’s important to note that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has not approved placenta consumption for any health benefits. In 2017, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) warned about the potential risks of consuming placenta. They cited a case in which a newborn contracted Group B Streptococcus after the mother consumed placenta capsules.