Chrissy Teigen Believes Eating Her Placenta Helped Her Avoid Postpartum Depression After Second Baby BY ANDREA PARK

BY ANDREA PARK

SEPTEMBER 14, 2018

About a year after giving birth to daughter Luna, in April 2016, Chrissy Teigen penned a powerful essay for Glamour in which she described her experience with postpartum depression. In the essay, she says PPD left her unable to leave the couch for months at a time. Her experience in the months after welcoming son Miles in May, however, has thankfully been completely different. In a new preview of her upcoming interview with Rita Braver forCBS Sunday Morning‘s 40th anniversary primetime special (airing September 14), Teigen theorized why she was spared the pain of PPD this time around.

“It sounds ridiculous, but people have this belief that if you eat your placenta, it gets all those nutrients that you lost when you were pregnant, rather than just losing them immediately and losing that rush of endorphins,” she said. “By taking these dry placenta pills, you can kind of keep this energy up and be weaned off that feeling more. And I didn’t do that with Luna so…I remember looking back and being like, ‘I shoulda ate my placenta!'” When Braver said she didn’t think the cookbook author could include placenta as an ingredient in her cooking demonstration on the special, Teigen joked, “Really?! That’s not a normal thing? I’m in L.A., it’s very normal — they grill it here.”

 

Though it’s fantastic that Teigen hasn’t experienced PPD after her second pregnancy, there’s not actually any definitive research linking eating placenta to preventing depression or, in fact, to any other health benefits. According to Self, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention actually recommends that new moms avoid eating their placenta in capsule form since it could contain dangerous bacteria that can then be passed on to newborns via breastmilk or skin-to-skin contact. Additionally, women’s health expert Jennifer Wider, M.D., told Self that mothers who eat their placenta could also see an increased risk of blood clots as a result of ingesting extra estrogen. If you’re worried about PPD or any other potential post-birth conditions, your best bet is to talk it over with your doctor, who can recommend a (scientifically sound) course of action.

The 32-year-old also described another major life change she’s experienced since welcoming two kids and putting out two cookbooks. “I really prefer being happy and getting to eat things that I love, still wanting to be healthy,” the former Sports Illustrated swimsuit model told Braver. “But I just don’t care about looking good in a swimsuit anymore. I guess that’s the only way to put it.”

Just a few weeks ago, Teigen took to social media to talk about learning to love her body. “I think it’s awesome people have killer bodies and are proud to show them off (I really do!!), but I know how hard it can be to forget what (for lack of a better word) regular ol’ bodies look like when everyone looks bonkers amazing,” she wrote on Twitter after sharing a video of herself after giving birth to her two children, complete with stretch marks. She added, “Also I don’t really call this ‘body confidence’ because I’m not quite there yet. I’m still super insecure. I’m just happy that I can make anyone else out there feel better about themselves!”

 

Meant to be a Doula

It is no surprise to me that I have ended up here as a protégé of midwifery services. At the age of 14 was when my obsession with the miraculous act of child birth began. I remember watching everything that had to do with child birth on the te-lie-vision (tv) and doing independent research on how my body will one day experience the magic itself. Then was when my journey to becoming a sexual reproduction educator and doula began. I do also recall being a very eager 12 year old wanting to know exactly what was happening to my body the moment I got my first period. Yes, I was that person who googled everything and joined the mailing list on those tween websites to receive free tampons and pads. They also gave cool diagrams and coloring books to know exactly how your uterus functioned! Who wouldn’t want that as keep sake?

It is no surprise to me that I have ended up here as a protégé of midwifery services. At the age of 14 was when my obsession with the miraculous act of child birth began. I remember watching everything that had to do with child birth on the te-lie-vision (tv) and doing independent research on how my body will one day experience the magic itself. Then was when my journey to becoming a sexual reproduction educator and doula began. I do also recall being a very eager 12 year old wanting to know exactly what was happening to my body the moment I got my first period. Yes, I was that person who googled everything and joined the mailing list on those tween websites to receive free tampons and pads. They also gave cool diagrams and coloring books to know exactly how your uterus functioned! Who wouldn’t want that as keep sake?

Habits create a life style…

Oddly enough I can remember my first science project for my freshman year science fair. My project was based on the reproduction cycles of both men and woman which was followed by a presentation of both female and male contraceptives. How ironic, I know. Today I don’t believe in contraceptives. I have learned there are many different forms of contraceptives that don’t come out of a box. We’ll get to that later.  I was pretty pretentious to go out in front of the whole school, try and teach everyone about sex and contraceptives while being a virgin. I guess you can really say those who don’t do, teach.

Welcoming womanhood…

Now through the coming of a woman journey that I have experienced throughout the few decades of living on this earth, I have finally realized what truly made me happy to wake up each morning and motivated me to live each day. It was the reality of life being born around us every second. Within finding myself as a woman through mile stones, hardships and exploring the greatness in my sexuality I had made a decision to be a part of the Welcoming life Crew. (WLC includes, OBGs, Midwives, Doulas, Nurses, Witch Doctors) whatever you shall call them if they deliver or assist in delivering new life they are a part of that crew that I just made up, Welcoming Life Crew.

Being Proactic

 Destiny is not a matter of chance, but of choice. Not something to wish for, but to attain.                          – William Jennings Bryan

A few months ago when I looked at my life and what I was doing; I realized I wasn’t fulfilling something inside of me. I worked for the 9th biggest company in this country and I felt as if I was dying inside. One day after watching a documentary by Rikki Lake and Abby Epstein, “The Business of Being Born”. I instantly knew why I was so passionate about birth and “Welcoming Life” into this world. >>What went through my mind was, Every time a new life is born into this world is another message being told to us by the Universe, by God, by a Higher Power that it hasn’t given up on us. In that moment I knew that I wanted to be a part of that message. I want to be the advocate of New Life being born into this world with a chance of a better tomorrow or at least a better today. This is why I am on my journey to being a DONA certified Doula with emphasis on natural birth because I was born to serve my people, my sisters and empower them to do what they biologically were born to do.  ~YtheG