Placenta Pills: What the Evidence Actually Shows
SavePlacenta capsules are marketed to prevent postpartum depression and boost energy and milk supply, but controlled research has not shown those benefits. Encapsulation also does not reliably kill bacteria, and one infant infection was linked to contaminated capsules. Evidence-based support for mood, iron, and recovery works better.
Last updated: July 2026
What does eating your placenta claim to do?
Placentophagy, eating the placenta after birth, is usually done today by drying and grinding it into capsules. Advocates say the capsules ease postpartum mood, lift energy, reduce bleeding, boost milk supply, and replace iron and hormones lost in birth.
The practice draws on the fact that most non-human mammals eat the placenta and on a broader wish to make an overwhelming transition feel more supported and natural. Placenta can be encapsulated, made into tinctures, or blended into smoothies. The claims are appealing precisely because the early postpartum weeks are hard. Whether any of these promised benefits hold up under research, rather than testimony, is a separate and answerable question.
Does the evidence support any benefit?
No controlled human studies show that eating the placenta improves mood, energy, lactation, or recovery. Reviews of the available research have found no measured benefit over placebo for any marketed outcome, and reported improvements are consistent with expectation and the placebo effect.
The idea that capsules meaningfully restore iron or hormones is also unsupported, because processing degrades hormones and the iron content is unreliable. For the specific hope that capsules prevent postpartum depression, which affects roughly 1 in 7 women according to the National Institute of Mental Health 1Ref 1National Institute of Mental Health (2023).Perinatal Depression.Postpartum depression affects roughly 1 in 7 women; the claim that placenta capsules prevent it is not supported by evidence, the evidence points elsewhere: a large Cochrane review found that psychosocial and psychological support reduces that risk, not supplements 2Ref 2Dennis CL, Dowswell T (2013).Psychosocial and psychological interventions for preventing postpartum depression.Psychosocial and psychological interventions reduce the risk of postpartum depression, unlike placenta supplements. Postpartum iron-deficiency anemia, when present, responds to actual iron treatment rather than placenta 3Ref 3Markova V, Norgaard A, Jørgensen KJ, Langhoff-Roos J (2015).Treatment for women with postpartum iron deficiency anaemia.Postpartum iron-deficiency anemia is treated effectively with iron, not with placenta capsules of unreliable iron content.
Is eating your placenta safe?
Eating your placenta is not risk-free, and the main concern is infection. Home and commercial encapsulation heating does not reliably kill bacteria or viruses, and the placenta can harbor them; in one documented U.S. case, an infant developed a recurrent group B strep infection linked to the mother's contaminated capsules.
There is no standard safety regulation of encapsulation services, so preparation quality varies. Storing raw placenta and processing it also carry ordinary food-safety risks. The risk is not large, but it is real, and it is weighed against benefits that research has not confirmed. Public-health agencies have cautioned against placenta consumption for these reasons, which is a meaningful signal when the upside is unproven.
What actually helps postpartum mood and energy?
Approaches with real evidence exist for the very problems placenta pills claim to solve. For mood, psychosocial and psychological support, including peer contact, counseling, and treatment when needed, reduces the risk of postpartum depression and treats it effectively 2Ref 2Dennis CL, Dowswell T (2013).Psychosocial and psychological interventions for preventing postpartum depression.Psychosocial and psychological interventions reduce the risk of postpartum depression, unlike placenta supplements.
Learning the postpartum depression symptoms and telling them from the short-lived baby blues helps you act early, and the identity shift of matrescence is a normal backdrop, not a deficiency to supplement away. For energy, treating iron-deficiency anemia works, as does protecting sleep and easing postpartum loneliness. Mood shifts are not unique to birth; women navigate similar changes in the perimenopausal transition, where evidence-based care again beats unproven supplements.
When postpartum symptoms need a clinician
Some postpartum symptoms need medical attention rather than a supplement. Low mood, anxiety, or loss of interest lasting beyond 2 weeks, extreme fatigue, heavy bleeding, fever, or a sense that something is wrong are all reasons to reach out.
The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists recommends contact with a maternal-care clinician within 3 weeks of birth and a comprehensive visit by 12 weeks, which is the place to raise mood, energy, and recovery 4Ref 4American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (2018).ACOG Committee Opinion No. 736: Optimizing Postpartum Care.ACOG recommends maternal-care contact within three weeks and a comprehensive visit by twelve weeks to review mood, energy, and recovery. Perinatal depression and anxiety are common and treatable, and effective options do not require unproven remedies. If you ever have thoughts of harming yourself or your baby, that is an emergency. Gale can help you prepare for that conversation.
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Two or three sentences, just as you’d say it. Gale reflects back what you focused on — a mirror, not a quiz.
When postpartum symptoms need care
- —Low mood, anxiety, or loss of interest lasting more than 2 weeks after birth is a reason to seek clinician review.
- —Fever, chills, or feeling suddenly unwell after birth is a reason to seek same-day medical care.
- —Heavy or increasing vaginal bleeding, or passing large clots, is a reason to seek urgent medical care.
- —Thoughts of harming yourself or your baby need urgent help right away: call or text 988, or call 911.
Heavy bleeding, a high fever, or thoughts of harming yourself or your baby need urgent help: call 911, call or text 988, or go to the nearest emergency room.
This article is general health education, not medical advice. Whether placenta encapsulation is safe for you, and whether postpartum symptoms need treatment, should be assessed by your maternal-care provider.
References
- 1.National Institute of Mental Health (2023). Perinatal Depression. National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), NIH. link ✓Postpartum depression affects roughly 1 in 7 women; the claim that placenta capsules prevent it is not supported by evidence
- 2.Dennis CL, Dowswell T (2013). Psychosocial and psychological interventions for preventing postpartum depression. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD001134.pub3 ✓Psychosocial and psychological interventions reduce the risk of postpartum depression, unlike placenta supplements
- 3.Markova V, Norgaard A, Jørgensen KJ, Langhoff-Roos J (2015). Treatment for women with postpartum iron deficiency anaemia. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD010861.pub2 ✓Postpartum iron-deficiency anemia is treated effectively with iron, not with placenta capsules of unreliable iron content
- 4.American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (2018). ACOG Committee Opinion No. 736: Optimizing Postpartum Care. Obstetrics & Gynecology. doi:10.1097/AOG.0000000000002633 ✓ACOG recommends maternal-care contact within three weeks and a comprehensive visit by twelve weeks to review mood, energy, and recovery
4 sources, numbered by first appearance. General health information, not medical advice. AI-assisted editorial content — every citation independently verified. Editorial policy