It was a real Beverly Hills kind of day.
The electric Mercedes SUVs were sparkling in the sunlight.Entitled little dogswere sashaying down Santa Monica Boulevard.
And all cloud cover had been diverted to Culver City.
Illustration by Ingrid Fowler; Source images: Getty Images
As early spring Sundays go, it was perfection.
Strapless dresses, Chanel handbags, Stuart Weitzman slingbacks,browsfeathered andlips glossed.
Waiters silently passed drinks.
Mother-to-be Ali Arnkoff and her 20-month-old son at her “Afterbirth Affair.”
In the corner, a harpist harped.
This was her party.
To the untrained eye, it was the worlds loveliest, most affluent baby shower.
Yes, that is a fondant umbilical cord.
The cocktail tray had Postpartum Potion and Womb Juice.
The cake, on its own cake-size pedestal, didnt have flowers or Its a Boy!
It was round, blood red, and was that a…?
Danielle Kinney started Placenta Plus 10 years ago, and just opened her third placenta encapsulation lab.
Yes, it had a fondant umbilical cord rising out of the top.
This was Alis Afterbirth Affair.
Or more commonly known (if its commonly known?)
In its labs, Placenta Plus dissects the placenta into very small thin pieces before it goes into a dehydrator for 17 hours.
as a placenta party.
Mother-to-be Ali Arnkoff and her 20-month-old son at her Afterbirth Affair.
I would do anything to not have it.
Photographed by Erik Voake
I spoke to some friends who had doneplacenta encapsulationand had really good experiences.
At first, I was very grossed out.
I imagined Id be, like, nibbling on my placenta.
Gift boxes did not include any encapsulated placenta products but were stocked with beauty and wellness items like Weleda Skin Food Lip Butter, Moon Juice Sleepy Magnesi-Om powder, and a sage smudge stick.
But its so far from that.
Yes, that is a fondant umbilical cord.
If youre already grossed out, maybe skip to the next paragraph.
Its cut and dissected into very small thin pieces.
It goes into a dehydrator for 17 hours.
Then it comes out.
Its a little bit like beef jerky.
Its then ground down into a powder and we put it into capsules.
Gummies are also an option.
And then you eat them.
you might only eat your own placenta, never someone elses.
Kinney started Placenta Plus in 2015 after her own personal challenges led her to the concept of placenta encapsulation.
I put my family through a lot.
I lost a lot of friendships.
Four years later, I got pregnant again.
Thats when placenta encapsulation came up.
Danielle Kinney started Placenta Plus 10 years ago, and just opened her third placenta encapsulation lab.
Theearliest examplesof human women consuming their placentas are in 1970s America.
Well, theyre all doing it.
Most placental mammals ingest their placentas after giving birth.
There is no data to suggest that placenta therapy is a reliable treatment for PPD.)
Kinney did her Google search 14 years ago.
She has plans to open in Switzerland and Saudi Arabia later this year.
Thats over 30,000 babies.
Its a very personal thing," says Kinney.
All our cosmetics are natural, handmade, and only have the finest ingredients.
We also make a balm to use on cracked nipples from breastfeeding, C-section scars.
The balm is my favorite product.
And, according to Kinney, it lasts.
Its a natural form ofhormone replacement therapy, she says.
you’re free to store it in your cupboard for 20 years and when you hitmenopause, bingo!
you could use it.
Sooner or later, the world of placentophagy bumps up against the world of western medicine.
In fact, theCenters for Disease Controladvises against it.
Probably not, saysShieva Ghofrany, an OBGYN based in Connecticut.
But Dr. Ghofrany does point outa caseof a baby who got an infection called group B streptococcus.
You may also get other infectious illnesses, like hepatitis.
There is just not a lot of data.
The review also wasnt able to identify any studies on the risks of eating your placenta.
(TheCDC notesthat no standards exist for processing placentas for consumption.)
No one denies that the placenta is a particularly remarkable organ.
It keeps a fetus alivenourishing it as its also protecting it from viruses and toxins.
And it leaves a mothers body rich in stem cells and collagens.
So tossing it into a biohazard bin after birth seems shortsighted to say the least.
If someone asks me, I tell them theres no data to support it.
Back at the party, the placenta cake has been cut and served.
(The strawberry filling is both surprisingly good and mildly uncomfortable.)
I ask Kinney if shell take a vacation while shes inLos Angeles, but theres no time.
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