What to Know
There have been a lot of debates on whether or not it is safe to eat your placenta after you give birth. In the last 15 years or so, people have been sharing the alleged virtues of preserving their placenta after giving birth. Many people have turned their placentas into pills, or blended them into smoothies, claiming that the pills have eased their postpartum symptoms, or given them more energy. Actress Danica McKellar is the most recent celebrity mom of many to claim that she ate her placenta after giving birth. And people are having a lot of thoughts about her admission.
She made a shocking confession.
McKellar appeared on Bobby Bones’ “The Bobbycast” podcast that dropped on March 9, 2026. While she talked about things like her iconic role as Winnie Cooper on the popular show The Wonder Years, and her background as a mathematician, it was comments she made about giving birth that have people talking the most.
McKellar gave birth to her only son, Draco, who she shares with ex-husband Mike Verta, in 2010.
No one could have been prepared for what she admitted.
“My doula said, do you want to taste the placenta? I’d just given birth,” she told Bones. “And I’m like, sure. I mean, you’re not even, you’re not in your right mind. She gave me a piece of it. Bobby, it was like the best filet mignon that I have ever tasted. But more.”
When I had my son, the nurse asked if I wanted to see my placenta. I asked her what it looked like, and she said it resembled an uncooked steak. Since that’s one of my favorite foods, I declined. But I’m not surprised to hear that’s what it tastes like too.
Even she was surprised that she enjoyed tasting her placenta.
“I was embarrassed about how much I loved it,” Danica McKellar admitted. “It was bizarre. I thought, what is this, some sort of weird satanic…. Am I a cannibal?” she asked. “We are meant to have that.”
Despite many celebrities (and non-celebs!) admitting to eating their placentas, it’s not really something we’re “meant” to do. According to the Mayo Clinic, eating your placenta is actually harmful to both you and your baby. There are two standard ways to prepare your placenta for eating: either processing the raw placenta, or steaming and dehydrating it.
“These preparations may not destroy all the infectious bacteria and viruses that might be in the placenta. There is no standardized, safe way to prepare the placenta for eating,” according to The Mayo Clinic. “There’s no evidence that eating the placenta has health benefits.”
People were really not on board with Danica McKellar admitting to liking the taste of her placenta.
“The placenta is full of toxins and bacteria…its literal purpose is to filter waste before it can get to the fetus. Yikes,” one person wrote on Instagram.
“We’re not animals. Smh,” someone added.
Another commenter shared, “I could have gone all year without knowing that.”
“File this under ‘what’s wrong with people!’” one comment reads.
There was one commenter who was totally on board with what she did. “Can confirm it did my body and mind well. 👌😂 Ate all three of mine but in pill form,” they wrote.
READ NEXT: Tori Spelling Reveals She And Ex Dean McDermott Made A Meal Of Her Placenta
