Eating of placenta beginning to attract international interest

After Wang Lan delivered, she brought home a baby girl and her placenta, which she plans to eat in a soup — adopting an age-old practice in Chinese traditional medicine.

The health-giving qualities of placenta are currently creating a buzz in Western countries, where some believe it can help ward off postnatal depression, improve breast milk supply and boost energy levels.

But placentophagy — the practice of eating one’s placenta after birth — is relatively common in China, where it is thought to have anti-ageing properties, and dates back more than 2,000 years.