Award Date

May 2024

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Anthropology

First Committee Member

Daniel Benyshek

Second Committee Member

Alyssa Crittenden

Third Committee Member

Ivan Sandoval-Cervantes

Fourth Committee Member

Mark Kristal

Fifth Committee Member

Gabriela Buccini

Number of Pages

198

Abstract

Rats with elevated opioid levels experience an even greater increase in pain threshold after placenta or amniotic fluid consumption via placental opioid-enhancing factor (POEF) in the afterbirth. POEF only enhances opioid hypoalgesia; it cannot produce hypoalgesia alone. Although the POEF molecule remains unidentified and its efficacy in humans is unknown, it could be a safe, novel pain treatment. People who consume placenta as an alternative postpartum health practice are ideal for testing POEF bioactivity. Though rat models show that bioactive POEF is highly sensitive, some forms of the practice in humans may conserve POEF. This project is the first attempt to conduct translational POEF research. For the past few decades, animal-model research has explored the mechanisms and effects of POEF without direct tests on human health. Moreover, human placentophagy research for the past decade has focused almost exclusively on the most common practice, which involves cooking the placenta, which almost assuredly deactivates POEF, because POEF is highly sensitive to temperature. However, some people choose raw and unprocessed placentophagy (RUP), which involves consuming raw, fresh placenta pieces directly after giving birth, or freezing placenta 'chunks' to consume after delivery. Although this much is known, there has yet to be a study investigating the practice in fine detail. This dissertation contains the results from two studies. The first is a qualitative analysis of an online survey of, and semi-structured interviews with, birth workers with first-hand knowledge of RUP. The analysis of this study focused on how RUP fits into their birth-work practices, why some clients choose RUP, how they discuss RUP with clients, and the specific procedural steps for how the placenta is handled and prepared for consumption. Overall, the study participants reported using food-hygiene practices to inform their decisions regarding RUP. The results of the first study informed the methods of the second study. The second tested if human placenta, prepared according to RUP protocols, and 'raw, dehydrated' placentophagy protocols, could enhance low-dose-morphine hypoalgesia, in rats, using a cold-water tail-flick assay. Despite the absence of a significant POEF effect in both positive controls and test subjects, the findings of the study remain inconclusive because of the small number of subjects.

Keywords

Complementary and Alternative Medicine; Midwifery Model of Care; Placentophagy; POEF; Postpartum Care; Postpartum Therapies

Disciplines

Alternative and Complementary Medicine | Biology | Social and Cultural Anthropology

Degree Grantor

University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Language

English

Rights

IN COPYRIGHT. For more information about this rights statement, please visit http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

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