On the latest episode of Dr. Berlin’s Informed Pregnancy podcast, the 31-year-old opened up about what it was like to give birth—and that meant also talking about eating her post-birth placenta by putting it in a smoothie, according to E! News. (Apparently, Hilary also added all sorts of berries and fruit juice to it to make it less...placenta-y.)
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Turns out, actually delivering the placenta was "not that fun," but she went on to say that the placenta smoothie was the “most delightful smoothie [she's] ever had.” Hilary added, “I haven’t had a smoothie that delightful since I was 10 years old. It was calorie-filled with juice and fruit and everything delicious.”
The placenta talk didn’t stop there, as she said she also turned the placenta into ice cubes for future smoothies. (Note to Matthew and Hilary's 6-year-old son Luca: Check what you're grabbing out of the freezer, boys.)
Wait...should I eat my placenta too?
TBH, Hilary admitted being a little sceptical about eating her placenta at first. (Good instinct, girl.) But ultimately, rumours that consuming placenta could help with postpartum depression and bleeding convinced her to give it a try.
Unfortunately, there's really no proof that eating your placenta has any benefit at all. In fact, most doctors say eating your placenta is totally pointless—or, worse-case scenario, potentially harmful.
A 2016 case study released by the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention revealed that one 5-day-old infant became sick after the baby's mother took placenta pills (a.k.a., placenta that had been dried, ground up, and encapsulated). The baby contracted a bacterial infection called group B streptococcus (GBS) which is found in the vagina or rectum of one-quarter of healthy women.
Contamination is the main issue with ingesting post-birth placenta. "There is always concern for infection, and there are concerns about how the placenta is handled and stored post-birth," Kecia Gaither, M.D., previously told WomenesHealthMag.com—that's whether you ingest it in pill form or eat it in a smoothie.
Overall, Hilary said the scariest part of the birth was "surrendering" to the fact that she just wasn't in control anymore. "I had to keep reminding myself that my body was made for this and can do this," she said.
Good advice—but still, don't eat your placenta.
This article originally appeared on Women’s Health US.
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