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While post childbirth has most women feeling exhausted physically and emotionally, one odd solution by British women is to eat their own placentas! Some consume it in the form of smoothies, while others make vitamin supplements of it, according to the Daily Mail.

Placentophagy, or eating their own placenta, is being thought by many women to give them the hormones, minerals and nutrients needed. They say that recovery becomes easier while others claim that it improves breast milk production and protects them from post-natal depression.

However, there has never been evidence to support placentophagy. A scientific review in 2015 said that there is no proof of advantages from the practice. While doctors warn that it might not be safe for mothers and babies, some even report "depression, excessive production of breast milk and feelings of jitteriness" after the practice.

Still, it is recommended by many to mothers.

"I felt so weak and tired. Just a walk down the street would exhaust me," said Ruth Parfitt, who had her placenta encapsulated after the birth of her second child. "That was really hard with a newborn to look after. We were new parents and were already sleep-deprived. I didn't feel right until six to eight weeks after the birth. When we discovered I was pregnant again in September 2014, I was determined to avoid feeling that way again."

She claims that after she took the placenta capsules, she has been healing rapidly.

"It was a completely different experience. I was up and about much more quickly, my mood was better and I felt really well," she said. "I lost a lot of blood when I had Elvi, too, so my iron was low again. But instead of iron tablets, I took placenta capsules and recovered far more quickly."

A few "placenta encapsulation specialists" even help mothers to create the pills effectively and they are certain that they are helping new mothers to "recover from birth with the most natural remedy around," says The Telegraph reported.

The beneficial hormones of placenta include oxytocin, even though it has not undergone enough research to prove that placentophagy has all positive effects.