1,249
Views
14
CrossRef citations to date
0
Altmetric
Articles

The Conspicuous Absence of Placenta Consumption in Human Postpartum Females: The Fire Hypothesis

, &
Pages 198-217 | Published online: 25 May 2012

REFERENCES

  • Abadin , H. G. , Hibbs , B. F. and Pohl , H. A. 1997 . Breast-feeding exposure of infants to cadmium, lead, and mercury: A public health viewpoint . Toxicology & Industrial Health , 13 ( 4 ) : 495 – 517 .
  • Adachi , M. , Saito , R. and Tanioka , Y. 1982 . Observation of delivery in the rhesus monkey . Primates , 23 : 583 – 586 .
  • Andersen , O. , Nielsen , J. B. and Svendsen , P. 1988 . Oral cadmium chloride intoxication in mice: Effects of dose on tissue damage, intestinal absorption and relative organ distribution . Toxicology , 48 : 225 – 236 .
  • Apari , P. and Rózsa , L. 2006 . Deal in the womb: fetal opiates, parent–offspring conflict, and the future of midwifery . Medical Hypotheses , 67 ( 5 ) : 1189 – 1194 .
  • Baker , B. H. , Williams , L. A. J. , Miller , J. A. and Fitch , F. J. 1971 . Sequence and geochronology of the Kenya rift volcanic . Tectonophysics , 11 : 191 – 215 .
  • Bastien , A. 2004 . Placental rituals, placental medicine . Midwifery Today , Autumn : 54 – 55 .
  • Beck , B. 1984 . The birth of a lowland gorilla in captivity . Primates , 25 ( 3 ) : 378 – 383 .
  • Blank , M. S. and Friesen , H. G. 1980 . Effects of placentophagy on serum prolactin and progesterone concentrations in rats after parturition or superovulation . Journal of Reproductive Fertility , 60 ( 2 ) : 273 – 278 .
  • Bloser , L. and Savage-Rumbaugh , S. 1989 . Periparturitional behavior of a bonobo (Pan paniscus) . American Journal of Primatology , 17 ( 1 ) : 93 – 103 .
  • Bowlby , J. 1960 . Separation anxiety . International Journal of Psychoanal , 41 : 89 – 113 .
  • Brandt , E. M. and Mitchell , G. 1973 . Labor and delivery behavior in rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta) . American Journal of Physical Anthropology , 38 : 519 – 522 .
  • Brown , D. 1991 . Human universals , Philadelphia : Temple University Press .
  • Boutron , C. F. , Rudniev , S. N. , Bolshov , M. A. , Koloshnikov , V. G. , Patterson , C. C. and Barkov , N. I. 1993 . Changes in cadmium concentrations in Antarctic ice and snow during the past 155,000 years . Earth and Planetary Science Letters , 117 ( 3–4 ) : 431 – 441 .
  • Camargo , C. C. and Ferrari , S. F. 2007 . Observations of daytime births in two groups of red-handed howlers (Alouatta belzebul) on an Island in the tucuruí reservoir in Eastern Brazilian Amazonia . American Journal of Primatology , 69 ( 10 ) : 1075 – 1079 .
  • Chorowicz , J. 2005 . The East African rift system . Journal of African Earth Sciences , 43 : 379 – 410 .
  • Clarkson , T. W. , Nordberg , G. F. and Sager , P. R. 1985 . Reproductive and developmental toxicity of metals . Scandinavian Journal of Work Environment & Health , 11 : 145 – 154 .
  • Condit , V. K. and Smith , E. O. 1994 . Yellow baboon labor and parturition at the Tana River National Primate Reserve, Kenya . American Journal of Primatology , 33 : 51 – 55 .
  • Dawson , J. B. 1992 . Neogene tectonics and volcanicity in the North Tanzanian sector of the Gregory Rift Valley: Contrasts with the Kenya sector . Tectonophysics , 204 : 81 – 92 .
  • Dias , P. A. D. 2005 . Observation of parturition in the Mexican mantled howler monkeys (Alouatta palliata) on the Island of Agaltepec, Veracruz State, Mexico . American Journal of Primatology , 65 : 93 – 98 .
  • DiPirro , J. M. and Kristal , M. B. 2004 . Placenta ingestion by rats enhances delta- and kappa- opioid antinociception, but suppresses mu-opioid antinociception . Brain Research , 1014 : 22 – 33 .
  • Dunbar , R. I. M. and Dunbar , P. 1974 . Behaviour related to birth in wild Gelada baboons (Theropithecus gelada) . Behaviour , 50 ( 1/2 ) : 185 – 191 .
  • Elinder , C. G. 1992 . “ Cadmium as an environmental hazard ” . In Cadmium in the human environment: Toxicity and carcinogenity , Edited by: Nordberg , G. F. , Herber , R. F. M. and Alessio , L. 123 – 132 . New York : Oxford University Press .
  • Ezzati , M. 2001 . Indoor air pollution from biomass combustion and acute respiratory infections in Kenya: An exposure-response study . The Lancet , 358 ( 9282 ) : 619 – 624 .
  • Faroon, O., A. Ashizawa, S. Wright, P. Tucker, K. Jenkins, L. Ingerman, and C. Rudisill. 2008. Toxicological report for cadmium. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry Publication http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/ToxProfiles/tp5.pdf (http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/ToxProfiles/tp5.pdf) (Accessed: 28 November 2010 ).
  • Fessler , D. M. T. , Eng , S. J. and Navarette , C. D. 2005 . Elevated disgust sensitivity in the first trimester of pregnancy: Evidence supporting the compensatory prophylaxis hypothesis . Evolution and Human Behavavior , 26 ( 4 ) : 344 – 351 .
  • Field , M. 1984 . Placentophagy . Midwives Chronicles , 97 ( 1162 ) : 375 – 376 .
  • Flaxman , S. M. and Sherman , P. W. 2000 . Morning sickness: A mechanism for protecting mother and embryo . Quarterly Review of Biology , 75 : 113 – 148 .
  • Friess, S. 2007. Ingesting the placenta: Is it healthy for new moms? USA Today [Internet], July 18 http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2007-07-18-placenta-ingestion_N.htm (http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2007-07-18-placenta-ingestion_N.htm) (Accessed: 3 January 2010 ).
  • Galdikas , B. M. F. 1982 . Wild orangutan birth at Tanjung Puting Reserve . Primates , 23 ( 4 ) : 500 – 510 .
  • Gluckman , P. D. and Hanson , M. A. 2004 . Living with the past: Evolution, development and patterns of disease . Science , 305 : 1733 – 1736 .
  • Goodall , J. and Athumani , J. 1980 . An observed birth in a free-living chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii) in Gombe National Park, Tanzania . Primates , 21 : 545 – 549 .
  • González-Mariscal , G. , Melo , A. I. , Chirino , R. , Jiménez , P. , Beyer , C. and Rosenblatt , J. S. 1998 . Importance of mother/young contact at parturition and across lactation for the expression of maternal behavior in rabbits . Developmental Psychobiology , 32 : 101 – 111 .
  • Goren-Inbar , N. , Alperson , N. , Kislev , M. E. , Simchoni , O. , Melamed , Y. , Ben-Nun , A. and Werker , E. 2004 . Evidence of hominin control of fire at Gesher Benot Yaàqov, Israel . Science , 304 ( 5617 ) : 725 – 727 .
  • Gorzitze , A. B. 1996 . Birth-related behaviors in wild proboscis monkeys (Nasalis larvatus) . Primates , 37 : 75 – 78 .
  • Gouzoules , H. T. 1974 . Group responses to parturition in Macaca arctoides . Primates , 15 : 287 – 292 .
  • Grattan , J. P. , Huxley , S. I. and Pyatt , F. B. 2003 . Modern Bedouin exposures to copper contamination: an imperial legacy? . Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety , 55 : 108 – 115 .
  • Greger , M. 2004 . “ Metal availability, uptake, transport and accumulation in plants ” . In Heavy metal stress in plants: From biomolecules to ecosystems , 2nd , Edited by: Prasad , M. N. V. 1 – 27 . Berlin : Springer-Verlag .
  • Harris , M. 1992 . “ Human diet and subsistence ” . In Cambridge encyclopedia of human evolution , Edited by: Jones , S. , Martin , R. and Pilbeam , D. 69 – 74 . Cambridge , MA : Cambridge University Press .
  • Harris , M. 1998 . Good to eat: Riddles of food and culture , Prospect Heights , IL : Waveland Press .
  • Hayssen , V. , van Tienhoven , A. and van Tienhoven , A. , eds. 1993 . Asdell's paterns of mammalian reproduction: a compendium of species-specific data , Ithaca, NY : Cornell University Press .
  • Hemmalin , H. and Loy , J. 1989 . Observations of parturition among captive patas monkeys (Erythrocebus patas) . American Journal of Primatology , 19 ( 3 ) : 183 – 188 .
  • Henson , M. C. and Chedrese , P. J. 2004 . Endocrine disruption by cadmium, a common environmental toxicant with paradoxical effects on reproduction . Experimental Biology and Medicine , 229 : 383 – 392 .
  • Hong , S. , Candelone , J. P. , Turetta , C. and Boutron , C. F. 1996 . Changes in natural lead, copper, zinc and cadmium concentrations in central Greenland ice from 8,250 to 149,100 years ago: Their association with climatic changes and resultant variations of dominant source contributions . Earth and Planetary Science Letters , 143 ( 1–4 ) : 233 – 244 .
  • Hooton , E. A. 1946 . Up from the ape , New York : Macmillan .
  • Hopf , S. 1967 . Notes on pregnancy, delivery, and infant survival in captive squirrel monkeys . Primates , 8 : 323 – 332 .
  • Hrdy , S. B. 2009 . Mothers and others: The evolutionary origins of mutual understanding , Cambridge , MA : Harvard University Press .
  • Iyengar , G. V. and Rapp , A. 2001 . Human placenta as a “dual” biomarker for monitoring fetal and maternal environment with special reference to potentially toxic trace elements. Part 3: Toxic trace elements in placenta and placenta as a biomarker for these elements . Science and the Total Environment , 280 : 221 – 238 .
  • Janszen , K. 1980 . Meat of life . Science Digest , 78–81 November/December : 122
  • Johnson , M. D. , Kenney , N. , Stoica , A. , Hilakivi-Clarke , L. , Singh , B. , Chepko , G. Clarke , R. 2003 . Cadmium mimics the in vivo effects of estrogen in the uterus and mammary gland . Nature Medicine , 9 ( 8 ) : 1081 – 1084 .
  • Kadam , K. M. and Swayamprabha , M. S. 1980 . Parturition in the slender loris (Loris tardigradus lydekkerianus) . Primates , 21 ( 4 ) : 567 – 571 .
  • Kemps , A. and Timmermans , P. 1982 . Parturition behaviour in pluriparous Java-macaques . Primates , 23 : 75 – 88 .
  • Kristal , M. B. 1980 . Placentophagia: A biobehavioral enigma . Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Review , 4 : 141 – 150 .
  • Kristal , M. B. 1991 . Enhancement of opioid-mediated analgesia: A solution to the enigma of placentophagia . Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Review , 15 : 425 – 435 .
  • Kuhnert , B. R. , Kuhnert , P. M. and Zarlingo , T. J. 1988 . Associations between placental cadmium and zinc and age and parity in pregnant women who smoke . Obstetrics and Gynecology , 71 : 67 – 70 .
  • Kuzawa , C. W. and Quinn , E. A. 2009 . Developmental origins of adult function and health: Evolutionary hypotheses . Annual Review of Anthropology , 38 : 131 – 147 .
  • Larson , T. V. and Koenig , J. Q. 1994 . Wood smoke: Emissions and noncancer respiratory effects . Annual Reviews in Public Health , 15 : 133 – 156 .
  • Lee , R. B. and Daly , R. , eds. 1999 . The Cambridge encyclopedia of hunters and gatherers , Cambridge , , UK : Cambridge University Press .
  • Logatchev , N. A. , Beloussov , V. V. and Milanovsky , E. E. 1972 . East African rift development . Techtonophysics , 15 : 71 – 81 .
  • Marlowe , F. 2010 . The Hadza: Hunter gatherers of Tanzania , Berkeley : University of California Press .
  • Messinger , D. S. and Lester , B. M. 2008 . “ Prenatal substance exposure and human development ” . In Human development in the twenty-first century: Visionary ideas from systems scientists , Edited by: Fogel , A. , King , B. J. and Shanker , S. G. 225 – 232 . New York : Cambridge University Press .
  • Mishra , V. , Retherford , R. D. and Smith , K. R. 2005 . Cooking smoke and tobacco smoke as risk factors for stillbirth . International Journal of Environmental Health Research , 15 ( 6 ) : 397 – 410 .
  • Moreno , L. I. , Salas , I. C. and Glander , K. E. 1991 . Breech delivery and birth-related behaviors in wild mantled howling monkeys . American Journal of Primatology , 23 ( 3 ) : 197 – 199 .
  • Myllynen , P. , Pasanen , M. and Pelkonen , O. 2005 . Human placenta: A human organ for developmental toxicity research and biomonitoring . Placenta , 26 : 361 – 371 .
  • Naeher , L. P. , Brauer , M. , Lipsett , M. , Zelikoff , J. T. , Simpson , C. D. , J. Q. Koenig , J.Q. and Smith , K. R. 2007 . Woodsmoke health effects: A review . Inhalation Toxicology , 19 : 67 – 106 .
  • Nash , L. T. 1974 . Parturition in a feral baboon (Papio anubis) . Primates , 15 : 279 – 285 .
  • Negayama , K. , Negayama , T. and Kondo , K. 1986 . Behavior of Japanese monkey (Macaca fuscata) mothers and neonates at parturition . International Journal of Primatology , 7 : 365 – 378 .
  • Piasek , M. and Laskey , J. W. 1994 . Acute cadmium and ovarian steroidogenesis in cycling and pregnant rats . Reproductive Toxicology , 8 ( 6 ) : 495 – 507 .
  • Piasek , M. , Blanus , M. , Kostial , K. and Laskey , J. W. 2001 . Placental cadmium and progesterone concentrations in cigarette smokers . Reproductive Toxicology , 15 : 673 – 681 .
  • Peker , S. , Kowalewski , M. M. , Pave , P. and Zunino , G. E. 2009 . Births in wild black and gold howler monkeys (Alouatta caraya) in northern Argentina . American Journal of Primatology , 71 : 261 – 265 .
  • Po , J. Y. , Fitzgerald , J. M. and Carlsten , C. 2011 . Respiratory disease associated with solid biomass fuel exposure in rural women and children: Systematic review and meta-analysis . Thorax , 66 ( 3 ) : 232 – 239 .
  • Pope , D. P. , Mishra , V. , Thomspon , L. , Siddiqui , A.R. , Rehfuess , E.A. , Weber , M. and Bruce , N. G. 2010 . Risk of low birth weight and stillbirth associated with indoor air pollution from solid fuel use in developing countries . Epidemiologic Reviews , 32 : 70 – 81 .
  • Price , E. C. 1990 . Parturition and perinatal behaviour in captive cotton-top tamarins (Saguinus oedipus) . Primates , 31 : 523 – 535 .
  • Pryce , C. R. , Abbott , D. H. , Hodges , J. K. and Martin , R. D. 1988 . Maternal behavior is related to prepartum urinary estradiol levels in red-bellied tamarin monkeys . Physiology & Behavior , 44 ( 6 ) : 717 – 726 .
  • Radisch , B. , Luck , W. and Nau , H. 1987 . Cadmium concentrations in milk and blood of smoking mothers . Toxicology Letters , 36 : 147 – 152 .
  • Ratnayeke , A. P. and Dittus , W. P. J. 1989 . Observation of a birth among wild Toque macaques (Macaca sinica) . International Journal of Primatology , 10 : 235 – 224 .
  • Richard , A. F. 1976 . Preliminary observations on the birth and development of Propithecus verreauxi to the age of six months . Primates , 17 : 357 – 366 .
  • Roebroeks , W. and Villa , P. 2011 . On the earliest evidence of habitual use of fire in Europe. ,
  • Ronco , A. M. , Arguello , G. , Suazo , M. and Llanos , M. N. 2005 . Increased levels of metallothionein in placenta of smokers . Toxicology , 208 ( 1 ) : 133 – 139 .
  • Rozin , P. and Fallon , A. E. 1987 . A perspective on disgust . Psychological Review , 94 : 23 – 41 .
  • Sauther , M. 1991 . Reproductive behavior of free-ranging Lemur catta at Beza Mahafaly Special Reserve, Madagascar . American Journal of Physical Anthropology , 84 : 463 – 477 .
  • Sekulic , R. 1982 . Birth in free-ranging howler monkeys (Alouatta seniculus) . Primates , 23 : 580 – 582 .
  • Selander , J. 2009 . The care and keeping of placentas . Midwifery Today , Summer : 35 – 67 .
  • Shiverick , K. T. and Salafia , C. 1999 . Placenta, cigarette smoking and pregnancy I: Ovarian, uterine and placental effects . Placenta , 20 : 265 – 272 .
  • Smida , A. D. , Valderrama , X. P. , Agostini , M. C. , Furlan , M. A. and Chedrese , P. J. 2004 . Cadmium stimulates transcription of the cytochrome p450 side chain cleavage gene in genetically modified stable porcine granulosa cells . Biology of Reproduction , 70 : 25 – 31 .
  • Soyková-Pachnerová , E. , Brutar , V. , Golová , B. and Zvolská , E. 1954 . Placenta as a lactagagon . Gynaecologia , 138 ( 6 ) : 617 – 627 .
  • Stefanidou , M. , Athanaselis , S. and Spiliopoulou , C. 2008 . Health impacts of fire smoke inhalation . Inhalation Toxicology , 20 : 761 – 766 .
  • Stevenson , M. F. and Poole , T. B. 1976 . An ethogram of the common marmoset (Calithrix jacchus jacchus): General behavioural repertoire . Animal Behaviour , 24 ( 2 ) : 428 – 451 .
  • Stewart , K. J. 1977 . The birth of a wild mountain gorilla (Gorilla gorilla beringei) . Primates , 18 ( 4 ) : 965 – 976 .
  • Stewart , K. J. 1984 . Parturition in wild gorillas: Behaviour of mothers, neonates, and others . Folia Primatologica , 42 : 62 – 69 .
  • Takeshita , H. 1961 . On the delivery behavior of squirrel monkeys (Saimiri sciurea) and a mona monkey (Cercopithecus mona) . Primates , 3 : 59 – 72 .
  • Telisman , S. , Azaric , J. and Prpic-Majic , D. 1986 . Cadmium in blood as an indicator of integrated exposure to cadmium in the urban population . Bulletin of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology , 36 : 491 – 495 .
  • Thomsen , R. and Soltis , J. 2000 . Socioecological context of parturition in wild Japanese macaques (Macaca fuscata) on Yakushima Island . International Journal of Primatology , 21 ( 4 ) : 685 – 696 .
  • Tielsch , J.M. , Katz , J. , Thulasiraj , R.D. , Coles , C.L. , Sheeladevi , S. , Yanik , E.L. and Rahmathullah , L. 2009 . Exposure to indoor biomass fuel and tobacco smoke increase risk of adverse reproductive outcomes, mortality, respiratory morbidity, and growth among newborn infants in south India . International Journal of Epidemiology , 38 : 1351 – 1363 .
  • Timmermans , P. J. A. and Vossen , J. M. H. 1996 . The influence of repeated motherhood on periparturitional behavior in cynomolgus macaques (Macaca fascicularis) . International Journal of Primatology , 17 : 277 – 296 .
  • Tinklepaugh , O. L. and Hartman , C. G. 1930 . Behavioral aspects of parturition in the monkey (Macacus rhesus) . Journal of Comparative Psychology , 11 ( 1 ) : 63 – 98 .
  • Torres-Duque , C. , Maldonado , D. , Perez-Padilla , R. and Ezzati , M. 2008 . Biomass fuels and respiratory disease: A review of the evidence . Proceedings of the American Thoracic Society , 5 : 577 – 550 .
  • Trevathan , W. R. 1987 . Human birth: An evolutionary perspective , Hawthorne , NY : Aldine de Gruyter .
  • Turner , S. E. , Fedigan , L. M. , Nakamichi , M. , Matthews , H. D. , McKenna , K. , Nobuhara , H. , Nobuhara , T. and Shimizu , K. 2010 . Birth in free-ranging Macaca fuscata . International Journal of Primatology , 31 : 15 – 37 .
  • Vaughan , J. L. and Tibary , A. 2006 . Reproduction in the South American camelids: A review and clinical observations . Small Ruminant Research , 61 : 259 – 281 .
  • von Schirnding , Y. 2001 . Gender differences in the impact of biomass fuel on health . Energia News , 4 : 10 – 11 .
  • Wickeramsinghe , A. 2001 . Gendered sights and health issues in the paradigm of biofuel in Sri Lanka . Energia News , 4 : 12 – 14 .
  • Wilson, D. E., and D. M. Reeder (ed.). 2005. Mammal species of the world: A taxonomic and geographic reference. 3rd ed. [Internet]. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press http://www.bucknell.edu/MSW3 (http://www.bucknell.edu/MSW3) (Accessed: 3 January 2010 ).
  • Wrangham , R. 2009 . Catching fire: How cooking made us human , New York : Basic .
  • Wrangham , R. and Conklin-Brittain , N. 2003 . Cooking as a biological trait . Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology Part A: Molecular and Integrative Physiology , 136 : 35 – 46 .
  • Young , S. M. and Benyshek , D. C. 2010 . In search of placentophagy: A cross-cultural survey of human placenta consumption, disposal, practices and cultural beliefs . Ecology of Food and Nutrition , 49 ( 6 ) : 467 – 484 .

Reprints and Corporate Permissions

Please note: Selecting permissions does not provide access to the full text of the article, please see our help page How do I view content?

To request a reprint or corporate permissions for this article, please click on the relevant link below:

Academic Permissions

Please note: Selecting permissions does not provide access to the full text of the article, please see our help page How do I view content?

Obtain permissions instantly via Rightslink by clicking on the button below:

If you are unable to obtain permissions via Rightslink, please complete and submit this Permissions form. For more information, please visit our Permissions help page.