Just when you thought the really freaky people were mashing their placenta into loaf form or rubbing it into their cheeks, along come the Japanese health spas with their IV drips of afterbirth.
All it costs is $30 and ten minutes of your time . . . and a stomach that won't start churning at the thought of what they're pumping into your veins in the pursuit of youth.
An in-depth look at Tenteki 10, the spa named for the Japanese word for IV, appeared on Slate this week, and it hashes out the argument over whether the health benefits of placental use are real or imagined. It's interesting reading, especially the look at how "human placental extract" is actually made:
Manufacturers simply gather human placentas from women who have just
given birth and place the tissue on ice. Then, they cut it into pieces,
test it for viruses, perform chemical separation and purification
steps, and sterilize and seal the product. Some proteins may be
rendered inactive by sterilization. And some manufacturers may remove
specific groups of molecules.
What I wonder is how many of these women know the placenta, which they've carried around for nine months along with their baby, essentially providing the lifeblood to that baby, is now headed to some random person's veins? That it's about to be cut into pieces and "sterilized."
When I gave birth, my doctor offered me the chance to look at the placenta. My husband took him up on it, while I told him honestly, "I'm more interested in her right now," and stared across the delivery room at the nurses working to clean up my newborn daughter. My OB went on and on about how impressive the placenta is, with the sort of passion that makes him a fantastic doctor. I didn't care. I wanted to hold my little girl. What happened to it next, I don't know. Medical waste, I'd imagine.
If I thought that the placenta could have made a difference in someone's life - a true difference, the way a heart or kidney donation could - maybe I would have paid more attention. But I'd imagine most women are like me; more interested in getting their hands on their newborn than in finding out what's happening with the afterbirth.
Source Slate via Jezebel
Image: Jezebel
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