Eating the placenta after birth is a trend that has caught on pretty quick, thanks to the likes of Coleen Rooney and Kourtney Kardashian.
However, a new study has found that despite popular belief, placenta pills don't actually help with post-natal depression.
The new study which was conducted by researchers in the University of Nevada, Las Vegas analysed 27 women: 12 who were given placenta capsules and 15 who received placebo pills.
The results of the study, which were published in Women and Birth journal, found that the pills don't actually decrease a new mum's risk of depression.
"Our results might be seen as proof that placentophagy doesn't "really work" because we did not find the type of clear, robust differences in maternal hormone levels or postpartum mood between the placenta group and placebo group that these types of studies are designed to detect," study author Professor Daniel Benyshek, said.
'While the study doesn't provide firm support for or against the claims about the benefits of placentophagy, it does shed light on this much debated topic by providing the first results from a clinical trial specifically testing the impact of placenta supplements on postpartum hormones, mood, and energy.
According to the Telegraph, medical experts are now advising new mums not to eat their placenta, with the Royal College of Midwives saying it has no health benefits.
