January Jones is one of those celebrities that I don’t know a whole lot about. Like, I know that she’s on Mad Men, and I know she was pretty mediocre in that X-Men movie. I also know that Zach Galifianakis is not a fan of hers, which speaks volumes to me. But probably the most I know about January Jones is that she’s the single mother of a baby boy and that no one has any idea who the father is. The most media attention January Jones has ever gotten was for the case of the mysterious paternity, and I was pretty certain that it would the be the most attention she’d ever get.
Oh, but wait, because it turns out that she’s eating her placenta:
Jones tells PEOPLE that the biggest challenge of being a mom on set was the exhaustion. “It was hard to work long days and then go home and not sleep,” says the actress. “It’s getting harder, not easier, so I’m a little concerned!”
Jones’s secret to staying high energy through the grueling shooting schedule? “I have a great doula who makes sure I’m eating well, with vitamins and teas, and with placenta capsulation.”
You read right: Jones is eating her own placenta. “Your placenta gets dehydrated and made into vitamins,” she explains. “It’s something I was very hesitant about, but we’re the only mammals who don’t ingest our own placentas.”
Jones has taken the capsules every day since right after she had her son, and also anytime she feels tired or down. Jones insists, “It’s not witch-crafty or anything! I suggest it to all moms!”
I didn’t mislead you, did I? You didn’t think that January Jones had a bucket of placenta in the fridge that she pulled out and gnawed on whenever she felt a little tired, did you? Oh, goodness.
But you know, I’m sure that this is a perfectly wonderful thing to do. I’m sure that for some people, it’s beautiful and natural and the right thing to do. And she’s right, many animals do ingest their placentas after birth. What could be better? But here’s the flip side: animals ingest their placenta after giving birth mostly to get some solid nutrition and to get rid of the decaying organ that might attract predators, and neither of those issues really apply to humans. Most of the time we can hop on over to a grocery store or restaurant if we need a good meal, and in several cases, a woman delivering a child doesn’t have to worry about nearby wolves getting the scent of the placenta. Not to mention, whoa. Whoa, January Jones. You seriously are doing this. Wow.
Then again, maybe I’m just being close-minded on this one. Maybe January Jones is ushering in the future. Maybe by the time I have a kid, it’ll be standard procedure to whisk away the placenta, hang it up to dry for a few hours, then break off a few pieces for the new mothers. Whoa.
It’s more complex than what you make it out to be and eating placenta is about more than keeping predators away. As you said, there’s a huge amount of vitamins and nutrients. There are also tons of hormones that help with post-partum depression (which, like most depression issues, get little attention and can be extremely debilitating at a time when babies need a lot of attention from mom for bonding and nutrition).
In this day and age, it sounds pretty crazy to be eating placenta. However, I would be more worried about receiving a cocktail of pharmaceuticals to treat depression at a time when babies are breastfeeding. Good on her for doing what she feels is right for her kid and herself. There are arguably no negative side effects (especially when compared to the drug alternative).
it’s a pretty standard thing to do actually. People just get grossed out.
Fucking gross. Just because the animals do it doesn’t mean humans should do it. Animals typically can’t be monogamous and some are cannibalistic. Just because animals do it doesn’t mean it’s okay, natural or good for you. And nobody’s telling you to get a pharma cocktail for depression, there are non-invasive ways to treat depression and get over your self-loathing, January. I can’t imagine anyone as smug as her being depressed anyway.
“Animals typically can’t be monogamous and some are cannibalistic.” yeah… I totally see the difference to humans lol
It’s just so hilarious how retarded people can be when they think just because animals do something that means nature intended humans to do it too.
And yes, humans can be monogamous. Do you eat humans, Pique? Because then okay, you’re not that much different from animals.
Yes, I eat humans.
Its just so hilarious how ignorant people look when they use the word “retarded” to insult people.
Alright, then I invite you to eat my nuts bitch! Hahahaha. I know Wikipedia is where you received your education, but I just had to use some big boy links to prove my point. You’ll get there soon, don’t worry!
Upon your response I rest my case. Thanks for making my afternoon way more enjoyable than initially anticipated. Absolutely brilliant, until next time :)
Way to sound smart there, LegalEase. This is probably the most ignorant thing I’ve read all day. Congrats, that means a lot coming from someone who actually works in the legal field.
Oh, is that so? What is so ignorant about it? Pointing out the fact that people using “oh, animals do it” argument to justify something is ridiculous? All your comment is is WORDS WORDS WORDS.
I’m with LegalEase. Though there are other reasons to eat one’s own placenta, using the “animals do it, so I should” reason is definitely silly. Animals also commit incest and eat trash! Humans are supposed to be superior to animals, so using animals as models for our behavior is illogical.
Derp, derp, derp, science? http://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/index.php/eating-placentas-cannibalism-recycling-or-health-food/
http://skepticalob.blogspot.com/2010/11/eat-your-placenta-and-show-you-just-how.html
Derp, derp, derp, more science? http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2007-07-18-placenta-ingestion_N.htm
Unless the FDA and physicians are all wrong, and you are right.
What, no Wikipedia links?
I feel like this is less disgusting than ol’ alicia spittin’ her “abc” food in her baby’s piehole. Just sayin’.
I’ve never watched “Mad Men”, and had never heard of J.J.. The first time I saw her was in “X-Men”. I was in love with how beautiful she is. She seemed like someone who was not only beautiful, but intelligent, quite and very laid bavk. I don’t remember how, but I came across about eating her placenta??? Are you kidding me?? Am I ignorant that this is acceptable and right?? January, if you’re ready this, stop, I love you. It seems after your appearance in “X-Men, that you have a solid future in film and T.V.. But,….
Does your site have a contact page? I’m having trouble locating it but, I’d like to send you an email.
I’ve got some recommendations for your blog you might be interested in hearing. Either way, great blog and I look forward to seeing it improve over time.