- Is it a boy?

- Is it a girl?

- Is it intersex?

- It's a placenta!

- It's a placenta!

(lively upbeat music) - But I know that it's amazing.

Like, I know that it's there to take care of the baby, like some kind of invasive, gory Mary Poppins or something, but what is it?

What is it?

(Alok laughs) - Okay, so the placenta, literally, is like a wonder organ, kind of like how Mary Poppins is just a wonderful creature.

You know, she comes in with her umbrella and takes care of everything.

We're done with Mary Poppins!

(Bethany laughing) The placenta literally does everything a developing fetus needs while they are coming to fruition over nine months.

So, think about nutrients, so all the food baby gets.

Gas exchange, the placenta is acting like a lung, even though it's completely submerged in fluid.

There's also the removal of waste products.

There's also the placenta will give babies antibodies for immunity.

It can even take care of the hormones.

So, it's almost like the lungs, liver, kidney, the heart, the endocrine system, all of it.

Were you on any medications when you were pregnant?

- I did not take any medications while I was pregnant.

I was worried about it getting in the baby.

Can medications go through the placenta?

- Some can, and some can't.

- [Bethany] Okay.

- Some ones like opiates or benzos or beta blockers can cross the placental barrier, that might not be a great thing, but there's some other medications which are totally fine to take.

There are some beta blockers that are used commonly during pregnancy and have a long-standing and well-known safety profile.

So, ask your OB plenty of questions and discuss medication safety.

But also, infections can.

Have you heard of toxoplasmosis?

(graphic splats) - That sounds like a villain.

- [Alok] There's rubella.

You've heard of that one?

- But you get vaccinated against rubella.

- #PublicHealthVictory.

When you mentioned Mary Poppins, we're back to her, I pictured her coming down from the top of the screen, right?

- Yes.

- Which is kind of a cool analogy because did you know the placenta commonly develops from the top of the uterus?

- Like a gory Mary Poppins!

(chuckles) - Do you, by any chance, know where your placenta was in delivery?

Like, was it on the front?

Back?

Top?

- I believe it was in the front.

- Anterior placenta!

But the position can vary.

You can have an anterior, you can have posterior, and sometimes you can have complications like placenta previa, which is a placenta which could actually cover the cervix, where baby needs to exit.

- [Bethany] Oh!

- But in some cases, the placenta can actually grow too deep into the uterine wall, - Oh no!

- which can cause hemorrhage or really heavy bleeding.

That's called placenta accreta.

- That is bad.

- That is not a good thing.

- Accreta sounds like an anime villain.

Placentas are gross!

Why is it not gross?

- Okay, if you look at a placenta, just kind of straight on, fine, maybe it's a little weird looking.

(static crackles) (signal whines) Maybe it's a little weird looking, maybe it's a little gross, - [Bethany] Yeah!

- but don't disrespect the incredible organ.

Because the placenta has to embed itself into the uterus and basically tap into mom's arteries.

In farm animals, the placenta kind of just peels off during labor.

In dogs and cats, it's a little bit more invasive.

(cat meows) Implantation, the process when the placenta basically invades the uterus, is pretty deep in guinea pigs and monkeys.

That's a fun guinea pig fact.

- Fun guinea pig fact, which I've been waiting for all day.

Well, here you have one.

- Yeah, thank you.

- With placentology, thank you.

(laughing) - But in humans, placenta, uterus, that is super deep.

- Super deep.

Like, ride or die deep.

Like that?

Like so deep.

- Hopefully just the ride part, and no one's dying.

- Ride deep.

Like ride!

Ride!

- Ride, just ride deep.

- Okay.

Yeah, that's deep.

(Alok chuckles) On the real now, fo' real, are we supposed to be eating our placenta?

'Cause I've heard of people eating it.

I know there's all this information on how to eat it, how to freeze it, but are we actually supposed to be eating it?

- Short answer is no.

There is no good evidence or scientific studies that show any benefit to placentophagy.

- Give me some long answer, man.

- Long answer?

- I'm here.

I'm here, I have time.

Give me some long answer.

- All right, here's the thing.

Placentas may have bacteria in them.

Some are infected.

This is not a good thing or something that you should be eating.

There's even a CDC-reported case of a neonate getting a severe infection from group B streptococcus, a serious bacteria, because of a mom eating some of her placenta.

Not a good thing.

Also, think about it.

The placenta is literally designed to protect the fetus from harmful substances.

- [Bethany] Mm-hmm.

- [Alok] The fetus also sends metabolic waste out towards the placenta, so there's other things in there that - [Bethany] Oh.

- you shouldn't be consuming.

Well, then you hear the argument, "Well, we're mammals, and a lot of mammals practice placentophagy, so it must be a good thing."

- Like what mammals?

- Like rats, rabbits, Djungarian hamsters.

- Djungarian hamsters?

- They're the most important hamsters.

Anyway, here's the thing.

We're not like rodents.

We don't roll the same way they do.

(cymbal crashes) Get it?

- [Bethany] Got it.

- But just because other forest-dwelling creatures, and I'm sure other mammals and other hoofed mammals, may practice placentophagy, it doesn't mean that humans need to or even should.

Some of these rodents live in different conditions than we do.

They have different uteruses and placentas.

They deliver a litter of pups.

But we're not equal to Djungarian hamsters.

The ASPCA is gonna be so thrilled with this.

- As in Djungarian hamsters.

- They're gonna be like, "There is no love for Djungarian hamsters."

- I am showing love for Djungarian hamsters, and you are showing solid respect.

(laughing) (baby cooing) - Placenta!

Placenta, okay.

This is a little corneal amniotic membrane.

I like the umbilical cord.

It doesn't have any Wharton's jelly.

You may have an extra umbilical vein, but that's cool.

Thank you for being here.

Thank you for being a multi-purpose temporary organ.

Bethany, you want to cut the cord?

Can I touch you again?

Oh.

Vascularity.

(reverberating music) (gentle music)