Placenta capsules give birth to controversial health trend

Qin Xue, a pregnant woman, said she would not eat her own placenta even if it has nutritional value. "I think it is a part of you and your baby," she said.

She still worries her placenta could be used in other ways after friends told her their doctors did not offer them the option to keep it after birth.

According to China's health authorities, hospitals should give placentas to new mothers after they give birth. If the new moms give up or donate their placentas, medical institutions can process the handling. No outside organizations or individuals are allowed to buy or sell placentas.

The trend is not only limited to China, with news reports examining growing popularity in other parts of the world.

The Guardian recently published a story about a woman from Wiltshire who makes smoothies by blending berries, bananas and human placenta. The report prompted an investigation by public health officials over health and safety concerns.

Independent Placenta Encapsulation Network (IPEN), which is dedicated to transforming views of the practice, said it has helped more than 4,000 mothers consume their placenta in the UK alone.

Placenta capsules are not good for everyone, Yin Yan, doctor with the First Hospital affiliated to Heilongjiang University of Chinese Medicine says. It depends on the user's physical state.

"Perhaps it can be proved physically and mentally beneficial in clinical trials in the future. But before that, the medical and ethical debate will not end," she said.