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Women who cook, roast, dehydrate or blend their babies’ placentas into smoothies are engaging in a practice that flirts with cannibalism, according to the authors of a new review on the human “placentophagy” phenomenon.

Advocates — including private placenta preparers, often working in their own kitchens and who charge upwards of $400 to rinse, dry and grind placentas into powdered capsules — claim consuming the placenta after childbirth helps improve mood and energy, soothe “hormonal crashes” and increase milk flow.

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However, the new review finds no scientific evidence of any clinical benefit of placentophagy but risks of harm, including the possible transmission of serious bacterial infections to newborns.

“Most mammals eat the placenta after birth, but we can only guess why they do so,” Dr. Alex Farr, of the Medical University of Vienna and one of the review’s authors, said in a statement. One theory is that animals did it to hide any sign of childbirth from predators. Regardless, Farr and his co-authors suggest any benefit may be “species specific” and not translatable to humans.

According to the review, published online ahead of print in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, some women are eating slices of placenta raw, directly after childbirth; others are deep-freezing the organs for later consumption. “Placental material might also be mixed with fruits or juices to create smoothies that mask the unpleasant taste,” the team writes, “or might be used as a meat substitute for recipes such as lasagne or pasta.”